Heart of Porcelain
by Dave the Wordsmith
Summary: Riley's eyes are on a particular female. The problem is, does she feel the same about him?
1. Chapter 1

**Heart of Porcelain**

By** DaveTheWordsmith**

**Disclaimer: **Boondocks is owned by Sony Pictures Digital Inc. and Aaron McGruder. All the copyrights associated with Boondocks belong to them. Only the ideas contained within this story are the property of the author. No profit is being earned by the writer of this story.

**Note:** I don't know where to begin in thanking everyone who read and reviewed my previous stories. I'm very grateful for the feedback. It helped tremendously. To add to this note, this story came up while writing the next installments of "Choices" and "Walk in My Shoes", which are almost complete. So without further ado, here is chapter one of "Heart of Porcelain".**  
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**Chapter One**

Fifteen and a half year old Riley shut his eyes. The cool wind blew against his face, a heavy contrast to the hot sun that beamed its coursing hot rays down upon the city of Woodcrest. He opened them once the wind ceased its pleasant feeling on his sweaty forehead and nose. Left hand on the handlebars of his bike, his right full with a bottle of Sprite, Riley cruised down quiet Timid Deer Lane. Without a second thought he popped a wheelie and leaped onto the curb. With careful balance he continued to ride along the edge of the curb beside the sparkling, expensive Mercedes, Jaguars, BMWs and Bentleys parked next to him on the street. One car in particular posed as a 'victim' of Riley's stunt. With a swift jump, he cleared the entire hood of an ocean blue Five Series BMW.

_No other kid would dare try that_, Riley thought with a big smile.

When he landed back onto the street, the large silver and platinum chain he wore, with the shimmering "YR" block letters, swung from side to side over his gray shirt with long black sleeves. Riley screeched to a halt when he reached the driveway of his residence. He removed his feet from the pedals and let the soles of his blue, white and silver Air Jordan Fusions rest on the pavement. He grinned in relief upon no Dorothy parked in the driveway.

In his peripheral vision, Riley caught the image of a teenage girl two years his senior round the bend of the block and head his direction. He swallowed, not in fear, but in an unexpected show of surprise. His blank face morphed into one marked by fearlessness. Riley was a real nigga. He wasn't afraid of nobody, especially a girl. His eyelids lowered a little, as if to smile, complementing his lip's smirk. The girl's walk ceased once she stood six feet from Riley. Her hand came up to move a blonde pigtail off her left shoulder.

Cindy smiled. "What's good?" she asked.

"Same shit, different toilet," he said. "You?"

"Same."

Riley switched the Sprite bottle into his left hand. His right hand shot out, formed into a fist, as did hers. Cindy's collided with his, her's on top. They repeated the action in reverse, and then bumped fists normally. Riley held her hand and pulled her into half a hug.

Once he let go, his eyebrows slanted down. His brown eyes looked left, then right, then into her light blue ones. "So, what'chu got?"

Cindy's eyebrows twitched as they rose for a split second. She reached into her pocket. Riley watched her, his serious demeanor reserved only for critical, imperative business. For him, the few seconds that expired felt like minutes. Cindy's hand shot back out in possession of a thick, folded up wad of money that Riley estimated contained nothing but twenties, fifties and a few hundreds. His eyes danced upon the sight of the dead presidents that shook in her hand. He tried his best to hold his excitement inside.

"Cudda done betta. Slow day 'cause of da heat, but it is what it is."

Riley 'hmph'd'. He nodded and took a short swig from his drink. After he exhaled in pleasure from the taste, he spoke. "Dey ain't give you no trouble, did dey?"

Cindy shook her head sideways. She put the money back in her jeans pocket. "Naw. Dey know not ta fuck wit me. Beans wouldn't let nobody do dat ta him."

Riley smiled. "I done corrupted you."

"I already was before I met'chu."

Cindy advanced three steps. Riley couldn't help but gaze at Cindy's chest that almost poked through her white tee-shirt. Her eyes narrowed. "So what about'chu, huh? Where's your part?"

Riley chewed on his bottom lip. After a long pause, he stuttered, "Uh, I ain't got it wit me, cuz see, what had happened was-"

Cindy growled. She walked in a circle. "Argh! Why you always gotta use yo part of da money on dumb bullshit?"

Riley walked his bike backward, wary of what Cindy might do in her small fit. He waited until she stopped pacing and settled down.

"It wasn't fa nuttin stupid," Riley said. His eyes diverted his vision to the floor. "I been savin it up fa sumthin. I'll put da money I got left in da pot tomorrow."

Riley looked at Cindy. He watched her left eyebrow rise. "What?"

Cindy giggled. "Oh wow. Who's da girl?"

Riley's face scrunched up. "Huh? What'chu mean?"

Cindy rolled her eyes. "Dudes only be savin' part of dey stash fa two reasons. Ta get a nigga outta jail or ta get some chick sumthin. Ed 'n Rummy been outta jail fa two days now, so it's a broad. Who's da girl?"

Riley frowned and turned his head to the side. "Nobody."

Cindy's giggles came out louder. "Uhn-uhh. Stop lyin'."

Riley sneered at Cindy. He knew she wouldn't jump, and she didn't. He only wanted to send his message loud and clear. "I said it's nobody, 'n nobody means nobody, aight?"

Cindy shrugged, her face wrinkled with annoyance. "Fine, it's nobody. Damn."

Riley picked up the sound of laughter to his left. His head turned in that direction. Upon first glance of the girl up ahead, a few houses away from his own, his heart almost stopped beating in his chest. The girl's large, orange, curly puffs on both sides of the back of her head bounced with each step. Riley gathered her jovial mood came from the magazine held open in both of her hands.

_Jazmine…if I'da known you'd be so damn fine, I'da been afta dat a long time ago._

"Reezy. Reezy. Reezy!"

He looked away, focusing his attention back to Cindy who snapped her fingers in his face.

_Business before pleasure, rememba dat,_ Riley thought.

"Huh?" he asked.

"What'chu got planned fa today?"

Riley clapped his hands. "Iono. Prolly holla at Ed 'n Rummy or sumthin'. See 'bout some bidness we finna get into."

Cindy gave him a quick fist bump. "Aight den. Be easy, Reezy."

"You too."

Riley pedaled his bike casually to the garage door. He got off the bike and walked with it over to the door. He used the tip of his foot to release the kickstand and balanced the bike. He bent over to lift the door open from the bottom. Twenty seconds passed, due to the difficulty of the tumultuous feat, as well as the weight of the door, until he could lift it. Once the door retracted up and backward, he guided the bike inside the dimly lit garage and leaned it against the wall.

Riley tried his best to ignore Cindy's discussion with Jazmine behind him while he shut the garage door. It took only a few seconds for his eyes to betray his brain. They couldn't stay off Jazmine. Her black jeans that hugged her in-shape, curvy hips and thighs, her nice, loose, blue button-up shirt that fought to cover her large chest. When Jazmine giggled, she slapped Cindy on the shoulder, the two of them bent over in laughter at the foot of the driveway, her 'assets' toward the younger Freeman grandson. Both his top and lower front teeth dug into his lip.

_No, Jazmine did not just show me dat ass_, he sighed.

He leaned against the garage door, arms folded over his chest, his face fixed into an anguish filled pout.

_Even if I got ta cut off mah nose ta spite mah face, dat girl's finna be mine. All mine._

_...  
_


	2. Chapter 2

**Heart of Porcelain**

By** DaveTheWordsmith**

**Disclaimer: **Boondocks is owned by Sony Pictures Digital Inc. and Aaron McGruder. All the copyrights associated with Boondocks belong to them. Only the ideas contained within this story are the property of the author. No profit is being earned by the writer of this story.

**Note:** Thanks to IceLegatus and KODfreak for their reviews of chapter one. The feedback was great and I absolutely appreciate it.**  
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**Chapter Two  
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The black BMW Five Series Gran Turismo's alarm chirped twice. Parked in the Dubois home's driveway, the bright evening sun helped it shimmer and sparkle like it came brand new from the factory. Footsteps mixed with loose rocks and pavement grew louder as they approached the vehicle. The thin, pin-shaped locks in the top interior of the doors shot up with a loud, audible click. Two men, the source of the footsteps, opened the front doors. The younger of the two men jumped in the driver's seat, eager to start his lesson, not only earn a bit of freedom but to impress a certain girl he had in mind. The older man on the passenger side carefully sat down. He made sure both feet were inside before he closed the door. The teenager closed his door, full of neglect to obey the traffic law of wearing a seatbelt. A smug look came upon his face. The brand new car smell and the multiple, expensive gadgets on the dash and front panels of the car overwhelmed his senses.

"Damn Mr. Dubois, you ballin. You got da latest GPS, bangin' stereo. You even got dem HDTVs in da headrests."

Tom glanced at the boy while he put on his seatbelt. Nervousness seeped from his little laugh. He smiled as he handed the young man his car keys. "Now Riley, before we start, remember what Robert and I told you."

Riley rolled his eyes. He looked at the seatbelt to his left. A few seconds passed before he yanked it out and down and pushed the tongue into the buckle. He frowned. "Yeah yeah, I remember. Put on mah seat belt, drive carefully 'n try not ta kill nobody."

Tom nodded. "Good. Have your learner's permit?"

Riley stared at Tom in disbelief. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the pink sheet of paper with his information on it. "Is Gangstalicious gay?"

"Just checking," Tom said. He looked out his window, gazing in the side mirror at the cars that passed behind them. Riley put his permit away. He slipped the keys into the ignition before he released the emergency brake. Tom jumped when the engine started up and revved without any notice. "Now, before we back out, as a precaution, make sure you check your rear-AHHH!"

Riley shifted the car into reverse. His foot slammed into the gas pedal. The tires squealed with Tom's own yells, his eyes squeezed shut, his face fixed into an uncomfortable grimace. One hand on the wheel, Riley made a sharp right turn. The car flew backward into the empty street and turned one-eighty degrees while in reverse. Now on the other side of the road facing the right direction, Riley revved the engine some more. He laughed as he zoomed down the street, his grin as big as his confidence. The BMW ran through a yellow light that turned red a split second later. Riley switched into the left lane, bored by the slower drivers in the right lane.

Tom turned to look at Riley. He whimpered. His hands pushed down on the center console and the passenger door handle. "Riley, slow down!"

Riley's muscles grew tight. He frowned. His eyes focused on the road ahead, he turned the radio on. Thugnificent's _Stomp Em in the Nuts_ blared from the speakers. The rumbles from the heavy bass made Tom's body vibrate.

"Relax Mr. Dubois. I got dis. I been drivin since I was eight."

"Wha?"

Riley nodded twice. "Yeah. I done borrowed Dorothy plenty'a times. Granddad ain't even notice. Don't tell him I told'chu doe."

Tom shook his head. "God, please let me survive this. I'll go to more of Jazmine's cheerleading events. I'll cook more dinners after work. I'll let Sarah and Jazmine go to an Usher concert. Please, just let me live through this!"

Riley guffawed. He laughed some more when he heard Tom squeal as they squeezed between two cars in the right hand lane. "Stop actin' like a bitch. We gone be awight."

A tear fell from Tom's eye. Snot dripped from his nose. He stuttered, "Don't you realize we may get in a serious car accident, and possibly kill someone? And we'll be given time in prison, making it quite possible that we may get-"

Tom's lips quivered. "-Anally raped."

"Pause," Riley's grin grew in size. He continued to drive around other cars going too slow. "Prison? Shee-it, now dat you mention it, dat ain't a bad idea."

"Riley!"

"Sides, I thought you was ova dat rape shit."

Tom looked away from Riley. "I had no choice. I had to fight for my life. I still have nightmares about that incident. I thought I was a goner."

Riley blew air through his teeth. "Nigga, get over it. We ain't gettin' in no accident, okay? You ridin wit da best. I know Granddad's told'chu my drivin's wack. I been gettin' better doe. Watch dis."

Tom chuckled, his laughs filled with sadness. "Oh boy."

At the next traffic light, Riley turned right to get on the onramp of Interstate I-70 north. Tom shuddered. His body shook as Riley increased his speed to catch up with the other cars in the far right lane. Once on the highway, Riley jumped from 65 to 80 mph. He barely swerved around a car going slow in the left lane and jumped ahead of them. Riley laughed at the rush from the impending danger.

Tom gulped. He undid the top button of his shirt under his black dress coat. Riley passed by three exits each a mile apart before he got off the freeway on the fourth exit. Riley stopped the car on a dime at the stoplight. He checked left. The road was clear. He checked one more time before he made a brisk, sharp right turn onto the street.

Tom said, with hysteria in his voice, "I'm alive. I'm alive!"

Riley shook his head. "You too much, Mr. Dubois."

Ten minutes passed by. The radio station played song after song from Thugnificent's catalogue. Quiet for the rest of the trip, the two men arrived at the Dubois residence. The sun finished setting, the sky now a dark blue-black. Riley turned the car to the right, away from the driveway instead of toward it. Tom screamed as the car swung in a circle twice. It screeched to a stop, the front of the car facing the driveway in the middle of the street. Riley looked out his window and spotted the long, black tire marks forming two circle shaped tire tracks in the road.

He smiled. "I'm dat nigga so nice dey named me twice."

Tom sighed. "Just park the car."

Riley steered the BMW into the driveway and put it in park. He grabbed the keys, the rush of the drive still running through his system. He switched off the ignition. He could feel the spark of excitement leave his eyes. Tom leaned forward in his seat, head in his hands, his breathing heavy. His seatbelt stretched over his waist and shoulder.

Riley glanced at Tom, confidence in his eyes. He tossed Tom his keys. "See? Told ya I was good."

Tom faced Riley, eyes so wide they could rip right out from their sockets. Sweat dripped from his face. "Now you tell me."

Before Riley stepped out of the car, he said, "Props for da lil drivin lesson."

Riley turned toward the front door of Tom's house and stopped in his tracks. Jazmine ran out the front door, her mouth curled up into a giant smile.

Riley rubbed his chest. He swore his heart wanted to take the rest of the day off. Time slowed down whenever that young woman came into the picture. Riley gasped when Jazmine didn't run to her father. No, she came to him.

He blinked once, twice, three times. _I ain't dreamin, am I?_ he thought.

She jumped into Riley's arms, her hand on his cheek. Riley looked down in her green, star struck eyes. Jazmine pulled him into a warm embrace. Riley's eyes rolled into the back of his head for a split second the way her body made contact with his.

She whispered in his ear, "I missed you."

He whispered into hers, "You didn't have ta. I wouldn't leave ya hangin."

Hands on her shoulders, he pulled back. One more look into her eyes made him lose it. As if she could read his mind, Jazmine placed her arms around his neck and brought him in for a warm, passionate kiss.

Riley winced upon the touch of someone's finger on his shoulder. "Riley. Riley. Riley?"

Before he turned around, he shook his head to shake out the cobwebs that clouded his thinking. Jazmine stood a few feet away, one arm resting on the roof of the BMW.

She smiled. "You okay?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm good," Riley said. He couldn't look at her. He rubbed the back of his neck. Embarrassment took over once again. He could hear Tom head into the house, closing the door behind him. "What's up?"

"Huey asked me to come get you."

"Wait, y'all are back at da crib?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

Jazmine giggled. "Shame on you."

Riley raised one eyebrow. "Huh?"

"Don't you remember what today is?"

"Today's Friday."

Jazmine shook her head sideways, a smile still on her face. "Well, yeah. But it's also Cindy's birthday. Mr. Freeman and I wanted to throw a little get-together for her."

Riley blinked once, twice, three times. He smacked his forehead. "Aw man! She gone kill me. I ain't get her nuttin. I gotta go. I'll be back at da crib later."

As Riley ran off, Jazmine followed him. "Wait!"

Riley dashed down the driveway and to the right down the sidewalk. He heard Jazmine's heavy breathing behind him fade away with each step further down the road. Jazmine had to sit in the back seat of his mind for now. He felt like beating himself to death. The last date Riley needed to forget was Cindy's birthday. Through all the times they shared together, there was one thing he learned: there's nothing worse than a scorned Cindy.

...


	3. Chapter 3

**Heart of Porcelain**

By** DaveTheWordsmith**

**Disclaimer: **Boondocks is owned by Sony Pictures Digital Inc. and Aaron McGruder. All the copyrights associated with Boondocks belong to them. Only the ideas contained within this story are the property of the author. No profit is being earned by the writer of this story.

**Note:** Many thanks to IceLegatus, KODfreak, Secrets4theunderground and l2s2 for reviewing chapter two. I really appreciate the comments you guys left. It was my favorite chapter to write because I've barely used Tom in any of my stories, let alone Sarah or even Uncle Ruckus. But I digress. Here's chapter three.

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**Chapter Three  
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The street lights helped illuminate the city of Woodcrest covered by the dark purple-blue sky. As Riley approached his residence on his bike, muffled, booming hip-hop music gave him the hint the get-together already started.

Riley smiled. _Cindy gone luv dis gift._

His left hand not gripping the handle bars contained Cindy's gift: a thin, twenty-two by twenty-eight inch rectangle covered with Snoop Dogg wrapping paper. Riley hated that the mall didn't have any Beanie Sigel wrapping paper, so Snoop Dogg wrapping paper was the next best idea.

After he put his bike away in the garage, he arrived at the front door, gift in his right hand. The music had subsided.

_Dey prolly openin' gifts 'n stuff wit'out me now._ Riley thought with a sigh. He placed his left hand in his pockets. The cold keys brushed his fingers. At that moment he pulled them out.

He felt the brass and nickel metal slip from his grasp. The bundle of keys jingled when they crashed down onto the door step. He cursed under his breath. He bent over and scooped them up. Before he could insert the front door key into the lock, the door swung open.

Riley's grandfather greeted him with a frown, eyebrows furrowed, forehead wrinkled. "Boy, what took you so long?"

Riley shrugged his shoulders. He could hear people in the background singing the typical 'Happy Birthday' song. "Took longer den I thought ta get mah gift."

Granddad's look of disappointment smoothed out a little. "Well hurry up. Cindy's bout to open her gifts."

Riley nodded. "Aight."

Granddad stepped out of the doorway so Riley could run through the foyer and into the dining room. The lights down low, he looked at Huey, Jazmine and Cindy who sat at the table. The large white frosting covered cake positioned in the middle glowed with a relaxing, orange light from the small, red candles. The three older teenagers turned in their seats upon Riley's entrance, their eyes upon him. Riley placed his gift next to the others stacked in a pile adjacent to the cake.

Cindy smirked. "Sup Reezy. Almost thought you wouldn't make it."

Jazmine's eyes grew in size. She smiled. "There you are."

Huey gave Riley his trademark glare. "We wondered where you were."

Riley bit his tongue. He figured he could give Huey a response later.

"My bad," Riley said. His eyes wandered over to Jazmine, who returned the eye contact. "Had some stuff ta take care of."

He observed Jazmine nod at his reference of her reminder. Granddad emerged from the living room, a black Sony digital camera in his hand. He stood next to Cindy.

"Now before we get to the openin' of the gifts," Granddad said. He gazed at Cindy, who had her eyes on the cake. "Your mama wanted me to take a picture of you and the cake."

Cindy smiled. "Cool."

She motioned with her hand for Riley to join her. "C'mon Reezy. I want'chu in dis picture too."

Riley chuckled. "I figured you was gone ask me."

Riley grabbed the chair right next to Cindy and put himself in it. Granddad walked over to the other side of the table to face the two "gangstas". Riley felt her arm reach behind him and wrap around his waist. His body twitched in surprise, not only at her sudden nonverbal communication, but from the big grin on her face.

Riley spoke in a low whisper out the side of his mouth, "C-Murph, what'chu doin'?"

She spoke back to him the same way, her expression still intact. "It's for mah mama. She get mad when I don't smile."

Riley lips poked out, his eyes narrow in response to Cindy's reason. "Damn, yo mama dat picky?"

Cindy slapped his shoulder. "Ay, don't talk bout mah mama like dat."

Granddad aimed his camera at them. "All right, you two. On the count of three…say orange juice. One, two, three."

"Orange juice," Riley and Cindy said. Riley made a small smile, a big contrast to Cindy's that could fit the size of her forehead. He blinked at the white flash from the camera, something even after fifteen years he could not get used to.

After Riley moved over, Cindy rubbed her hands together. "Now, lemme blow dese candles out so I can open dem gifts."

Jazmine, who sat on the other side of Cindy, flashed her cute smile. "Wait. Before you do, you have to make a wish."

Cindy bowed her head, shaking it. She lifted it back up and smiled. "Oh yea, almost forgot."

"What are you going to wish for?"

"Jazzy, I can't tell ya," Cindy said. "If I do, it won't come true."

Jazmine blinked. Her left eyebrow rose as her head tilted to the left. "Really?"

Cindy nodded. "Yeah. Dat's da secret."

"Oh…"

Riley said with a scowl, "I wish y'all would hurry up 'n get dis ovah wit."

"Boy, be quiet while she makin' a wish," Granddad said.

Cindy closed her eyes and bowed her head for a few seconds. Her head rose, eyes on the cake. She drew in a large breath and blew the candles out with her first attempt. Jazmine jumped and clapped, something Riley wished could have lasted longer for several obvious reasons. Granddad went over to the light switch and turned the lights on.

"Aight, now it's gift openin' time," Cindy said.

Jazmine ran over to the gifts and handed her the pink one on top, presumably hers. Cindy read the card bundled with it, followed by an immediate urge to open the gift. She ripped the paper instead of opening it neatly and took off the lid. Cindy grinned upon sight of the present's true identity inside the box.

"Yo, thanks Jazzy," Cindy said. She picked up the new black Monster Beats by Dr. Dre studio headphones still in its plastic packaging. She held it in her hand, spinning it around to get a good look at it. Jazmine hiccupped when Cindy gave her a one-armed hug. "I been wantin' dese since forever."

Riley nodded, his eyes on the headphones. "Yeah dose are off da chain."

Jazmine smiled, still in Cindy's hug. "You're welcome."

Cindy let go of Jazmine and grabbed the next gift, a thin, square wrapped in red, black and green paper. Riley looked at Huey. He could tell that was Huey's present for Cindy.

Riley watched Cindy tear open her present. As she peeled off the layers, he smiled. _He prolly got her some crazy pro-Black African shit or somethin' she don't like._

"Oh wow," Cindy said. She blinked at the hip-hop compact disc that lay over the shredded paper. Two familiar rapper's faces adorned the cover. "I ain't even know dis was out yet."

Huey nodded. "I figured you didn't have it, so I got it as a gift."

Cindy said with a smile, "Good lookin out."

She placed her new _The Roc Boys_ CD by Beanie Sigel and Freeway next to her headphones. "Aight Reezy, hand yours over."

Riley stood up. He went over to his gift. He took one last look at it before he grabbed it and carried it over to Cindy. He spoke after she read the card and started to open the gift. "I made it mah'self. I know it ain't nuttin' real flossy or expensive or nuttin, but…"

Cindy tore off the second layer of paper to unveil the handmade contents. Eyes wide open, mouth gaping, her reaction made Riley nod his head with a big smile. It took a few moments for Cindy to observe the gift in full detail. "Wow…"

Jazmine gasped. She covered her mouth. "Oh my God. Riley, it's…so nice."

Huey continued to look at Riley's gift, although Riley could tell from the glow in his eyes that it made at least a small impression. Riley noticed Granddad mimic the same action.

Cindy continued to gaze at the gift: a twenty-two by twenty-eight inch portrait of Riley and Cindy's grinning faces over a black background, surrounded by sparkling stars of different colors. The whole canvas was incased in a golden frame. Under their heads, in Riley's fancy cursive it read "Reezy and C-Murph, Homies for Life". She held it up so everyone could see.

Cindy put it down in her lap and turned the painting parallel to her body, facing her. "So dis is what'chu used part of yo money for?"

Riley put his hands in his pocket. He swayed from side to side, looking at the floor. "Yeah. I used most of it ta get Ed 'n Rummy out, so I used what was left over for da painting."

Cindy dropped the painting on the table. She ran over to an unprepared Riley. He stumbled upon Cindy's contact. Her arms wrapped around him, she placed her chin on his right shoulder. "Reezy, dis is da best present I eva got!"

_Mission: Please Cindy, accomplished._ Riley thought.

"You're welcome," Riley said. Locked in Cindy's warm hug, he looked over her shoulder at Jazmine, reading one of Cindy's cards. A sly grin crept onto his face. One thing he loved about Cindy's birthday was Jazmine's was just around the corner; a few weeks to be exact. That period in time marked the approximate date Riley would take his driving test to receive his license.

With Cindy's possible wrath out of the way, _Mission: Get JD (Jazmine Dubois)_ could finally begin.

...


	4. Chapter 4

**Heart of Porcelain**

By** DaveTheWordsmith**

**Disclaimer: **Boondocks is owned by Sony Pictures Digital Inc. and Aaron McGruder. All the copyrights associated with Boondocks belong to them. Only the ideas contained within this story are the property of the author. No profit is being earned by the writer of this story.

**Note:** I want to thank everyone who reviewed chapter three. I appreciate the comments/feedback. Oh, before I forget: for you rap/hip-hop listeners, in this chapter Riley references two big hits (similar to his talk with Granddad in the third season about Ebony Brown). See if you can catch 'em.

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**Chapter Four**

Riley bounced up and down in the passenger seat of Dorothy. Nothing could wipe the smile off his face. Even a grand whooping from Granddad would result a few laughs. Sergeant Gudda's "Crank That Artichoke" looped in his head. His arms and neck danced and moved along with the beat. The feeling of freedom finally hit him. A few "Reezy got his license, nigga" cell phone calls later, Riley and Granddad pulled up in the driveway.

Granddad turned the key in the ignition counterclockwise. The engine clinked to a stop. Riley pulled on his door handle. He groaned at the door that remained locked, which meant one thing: Granddad wanted to have a talk. Riley turned to his grandfather, upset about the child lock placed on his door. The old man's stern expression matched Riley's.

"Well boy, mind as well get this out the way. Ain't no way you gone use Dorothy. I can't trust you after you wrecked Huey's car."

Riley crossed his arms. He beamed, yet spoke with an irritated tone. "I'm straight. Ed gone hook me up wit a ride."

Granddad eyed his grandson, who was busy tapping his black and red Nike Dunks under his seat. "And we gone have a long talk about your new curfew."

Riley pouted. "Awwww Granddad! Now dat I got mah license, you know how much dat brings up mah rep? Jus cuz o'dat, I gotta be out in dem streets ya know? Doin' mah thang. Bein' me. Feel me?"

Granddad grunted and shook his head. "No. All I know is you excited 'cause you passed a test so you can get a card with yo face on it in the mail."

Granddad folded his arms over his chest. "That ain't got nothin to do with your rep. Now winnin' the lottery: that's somethin' you should be excited about, especially with all the things that need repair around here."

Thoughts of Jazmine played out in Riley's miniature daydream while Granddad spoke to him. He nodded as if he paid full attention. "It feel like I won the lottery."

Granddad made eye contact with Riley. He feigned a sympathetic smile. "Then if you feel that way, you won't mind taking out the trash."

Riley shuddered. His eyelids drooped along with his lips that poked out. "On second thought, I don't feel so happy."

"Mmm hmm. That's what I thought. You still takin out that trash though."

He heard the door locks click. Before Granddad could utter another word, he opened the door, happy to escape the smell of orange juice and worn out leather. Pulling up his sagging black jeans on his way to the front door, he entered the Freeman residence. No Huey in sight, he rolled his eyes. He had no choice but to take out the trash.

After Riley removed the trash from the kitchen and the other rooms in the house, he hopped into the soft cushion in the corner of the sofa. Granddad's remarks about why his shoes were in the sofa, what car he would drive and his new curfew flew over his head. Riley reached for the remote and turned the TV on.

"_Earlier today a 5.9 earthquake rocked Costa Rica –_"

Riley shook his head. "Pass."

"_Are honeybee colony collapse disorders caused by viruses –_"

He scrunched up his face. "What da hell?"

"_Temp jobs are on the rise, but will permanent jobs follow the –_"

He yawned. "Boring."

"_Dwyane Wade, in the Miami Heat's first pre-season game with LeBron James and Chris Bosh, suffered a hamstring injury today –_"

He sighed. "Gay."

The channel up button brought no hope to a depressing onslaught of uninteresting shows. He turned the TV off. "Man, ain't nuttin' on. Jus a buncha dumb shit."

The doorbell chimed during the long quiet lull. He hopped off the sofa and moseyed to the door. Riley opened it, not surprised to see the female outside. He gave the young Caucasian girl a customary handshake followed with a half-hug. Once they finished, he joined Cindy McPhearson outside before he shut the door.

Cindy moved in closer to Riley, her hands in her pockets. She whispered, "You got da shit or what?"

Riley backed up. The glare in his eyes told her to be cognizant of his personal space. He released a long, warm breath through his nose. He threw his hand in his pocket. The feel of the various wrinkled and smooth dollar bills gave him a small rush. Cindy smiled at the sight of the money in a tight, small bundle. He placed it in her hand held out for her piece of the pie.

"You know I do. I'm bout da scrilla, so call me a Ghostface Killah. Shiiiit, mine as well call me da mailman cuz I always deliver."

She placed the money in her pocket. "Yea. And like da mailman, you late den a muh'fucka 'n take Sundays off when you could be makin dat money."

Riley chuckled and gave Cindy a slight push with his hand. "Fuck you. God ain't mad at a nigga fa takin' Sundays off."

"Oh yea? Well Beans don't take no Sundays off. He stay grindin."

"Not as much as dem hoes was grindin on a nigga at da dance last week."

The two laughed at their inside joke. Once they finished, Riley eyed Cindy's attire: some gray tee-shirt and black jeans, something that caught his attention. "On da real Cindy: what'chu doin' here doe? I thought you had a meetin wit dem bitches?"

Cindy's eyes constricted. "It got cancelled. And dey mah homegirls, not mah bitches. Dem Camp Fire girls? Dey da real bitches 'n skeezahs. Got it?"

Riley smiled. "No doubt. Dey still bitches doe."

"Fuck you."

"What time you wanna?"

Cindy smiled and socked Riley in the shoulder. "Shut up smart ass."

Since he and Cindy became close seven years ago, Riley knew calling her or her Girl Scouts troop members bitches always pushed her buttons. "If all of em ain't bitches, den one of em mos definitely is. Dat bitch sold me some stale ass lemon cookies 'n ain't give a nigga a refund or nuttin. Couldn't even buy some mo cookies from her."

Cindy shook her head. "You know damn well we ain't got no refund policy, man."

The teenage gangsta shrugged. "It's aight doe. I was so mad, I gave dat hoe a two piece wit'out da biscuit."

"What?"

Riley chuckled. "C'mon, I'm jus' playin. I did scare da hell outta her doe. Oh yea, look at what I got today."

He pulled out a copy of his white driving exam paper from the DMV. "Read it 'n weep, beeyatch."

Cindy snatched it from his hand. She unfolded it and held it up to read. "Lemme see."

Riley nodded with a big grin on his face. He laughed at Cindy, her eyes and mouth wide open.

She put the paper down and looked at Riley. "No way. You got a perfect score?"

"Hell muthafuckin yea I did. I told dem DMV bitches 'Reezy Freeman's in da building. Swagger on a hundred thousand trillion'."

Cindy frowned. "No fair. You got yours, while mines still suspended."

"All's fair in love 'n drivin."

Cindy erased her frown, replaced it with a warm smile. She clutched one of her pig tails in her right hand, picking at it with the left. "So when we goin' out, boo?"

Riley's face froze in a blank state. All he could do was blink a few times. Cindy giggled, bent forward, her hand on Riley's shoulder. She let go while she giggled some more. "Damn, Reezy. I'm jus fuckin wit'chu."

Riley's jaws grew tighter by the second. "You know how I feel bout dat shit. You ain't gone catch me pickin up no hoe. I ain't gone use none of mah gas to get some ass. I'mma keep dat shit in mah tank. If I take a bitch out ta eat, we gone go to ta store so she can fix a nigga sumthin in da kitchen, like a real down ass bitch s'posed to."

Cindy shook her head, laughing. "Reezy, you mah nigga 'n all, but you talkin' out yo ass right now like you got diarrhea."

Riley shrugged. "C'mon Cindy, I'm payin! Dat's payment! Be fa real. How many nice, corny ass niggas you see spendin all dey money on dese bitches 'n dey stay havin dem bitches?"

Cindy's long pause prompted Riley to continue. "See? You cain't be no captain save-a-hoe fa dese bitches. Real talk."

"I know dat, but what about dem chicks dat are old fashioned 'n still believe dat chivalrous shit," Cindy said. She rubbed her chin with her thumb and index finger. "You know? Like Jazzy."

Riley stopped his teeth from chewing on his tongue. His eyes enlarged a little. "What?"

Cindy beamed at Riley. "You know what I mean. I know she's who you want, or at least a chick like her."

Riley waved a hand at her, laughing. "Naw, it ain't like dat."

"Reezy. I see you starin' at her like you hungry as hell and she's a Wuncler's McRib sandwich."

Riley's lip curled into a sneer. "I don't like Jazzy like dat, aight?"

Cindy held up a finger and wagged it. "Dat ain't what Ed told me."

Riley gazed at his sneakers, unable to speak or even look at Cindy.

Cindy snickered. "You really need ta watch who you be telling yo secrets to, fa real, fa real."

Riley declined his initial thought of letting his anger rise to an uncontrollable level. His face muscles relaxed, his eyebrows uncreased, the right higher than the left. "Damn. Figured I couldn't keep it from yo ass fa long."

Cindy's tongue clicked against her teeth as she rolled her eyes. "Don't'chu know who you talkin' to? Plus me 'n Jazzy go way back like FUBU 'n Surge."

"Cindy, I'mma ask you a question. Be one hunnid wit me."

She winked. "Fa sho."

Riley cringed after he asked the question that lingered in the back of his mind. He had the confidence to talk to any other girl, but he could tell Jazmine was a special case. "You think Jazmine is inner'ested in a nigga?"

Cindy sighed. Riley could see from her strong eye contact she would be one-hundred percent truthful. "There's only one way to find out, dude. Ask her tomorrow."

"Ain't tomorrow her birthday?"

"No shit, Reezy. When you show up, you give her a gift, 'n den pop da question. Jus be cool though. Don't be on no gangsta shit. She ain't ready fa dat."

Riley nodded. His smile returned. "Yeah. I feel you."

Cindy and Riley shook hands and gave each other a half-hug. "I'm out, Reezy. Later."

"Later."

Riley watched Cindy leave down the walkway and head to her house. He remained outside the door, his focus on the house across the street; the one that belonged to the one and only Jazmine Dubois. Before he went back inside the house, Riley grinned while he rubbed his hands.

"Tomorrow, you gone be mah down ass bitch."

...


	5. Chapter 5

**Heart of Porcelain**

By** DaveTheWordsmith**

**Disclaimer: **Boondocks is owned by Sony Pictures Digital Inc. and Aaron McGruder. All the copyrights associated with Boondocks belong to them. Only the ideas contained within this story are the property of the author. No profit is being earned by the writer of this story. And I don't own the iPhone 4S.

**Note:** Yo, my bad y'all about the very long wait for this chapter. I had school and other stuff to take care of! But to quote Freeway, I'm right back like I left somethin'! And I'm not goin' anywhere! Before I forget, I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed this story as well as my other stories! And now I'll be quiet and let this chapter begin!

Peace.

* * *

**Chapter Five**

Riley couldn't get to sleep. He tossed and turned in the darkness to find the coldest part of his pillow and the bed. He hated to find a good spot. It was always a bitch looking for the right one.

After a few minutes, he groaned and settled for lying on his back and let the back of his head rest on his left arm. Looking out the window, he saw the black sky littered with bright stars start to turn navy blue. He snatched his black iPhone 4S on the nightstand and glanced at the time. It was 4:43 am, and that was too damn late to go back to sleep. There was no way in hell he'd do it or else he'd oversleep, and Young Reezy had a lot of shit to do in the streets that morning. Plus he could always cop some Six Hour Energy drinks later to keep himself awake. Besides, what was that saying he heard Nas say? "Sleep is the cousin of death," or something like that.

Riley sighed and ran his hand across his face to get rid of some mental cobwebs. "Damn! Why I always gotta be restless 'n shit when I need some sleep?"

"You okay, Riley?"

His heart damn near stopped at the sound of that sweet, sexy voice. Feeling hesitant to face who it was, he slowly turned over onto his right side and found that certain someone lying right next to him under the covers. Her bright orange, curly hair peeped from under the covers and was a dead giveaway of who Riley assumed it would be. She giggled as she sat up straight and covered her bare chest with the comforter. Riley kept quiet while he contemplated what was going on. Was that girl completely naked?

"Jazmine?" Riley asked before he gulped down the lump in his throat. If it wasn't for the fact he was so shocked, he would've fallen out of bed. But he couldn't; not in front of the girl he wanted. He wanted to reach out to her and see if she was for real. It was unbelievable. Not only was Jazmine right there in the house, but from the looks of things, she was totally in her birthday suit. Riley was so out of it, he called her by her first name. "J-J-Jazmine, w-w-what about…but ain't you with Hu-" he held his tongue. No name dropping of his brother was gonna go down tonight. "Girl, what you doin' here?"

Jazmine's warm grin was so contagious that Riley couldn't help his lips from forming a smile. His eyes refused to look away from her bright, green ones that always felt like they were staring deep into his soul. "You know why I'm here, Riley."

Riley bit his lip when she inched over to him under the covers. The warmth of her body against his gave him chills. Most girls weren't shit to Riley. He didn't love them hoes. But Jazmine? No. She was different.

She brought her hand up to his cheek and lightly dragged her finger down his jawline to his lips. Her touch reminded Riley of a bird's feather. Goddamn, he wanted suck on it. But this was Jazmine, not some random hoe. He didn't feel as guilty thinking about it. "Wait. Didn't Granddad catch you comin' up here?"

"Not at all, Riley," she laughed and kissed him on the forehead. Riley felt his eyes pop out of their sockets. He couldn't believe this was actually happening. His mind was spinning from the lack of the ability to digest everything going on. One thing was for sure: that kiss felt damn good. Maybe even a little _too_ damn good.

"I didn't even have to sneak around," she pointed at his closet door covered up with Thugnificent, Sgt. Gutter, Rick Ross and T.I. posters. "After dinner, I hid in there 'til you fell asleep."

Riley grinned and took her hand.

_'Wait, hold up'_, he thought._ 'This had to be for real, right?'_

She wasn't no ghost. He was actually holding her hand. It was so warm, so light, and almost dainty and kid sized compared to his slightly larger one. And damn, her eyes were so hypnotizing. No wonder so many niggas were going after the light skinned girls so much.

"Girl…you know Granddad finna whoop my ass a million times 'n then tell yo' dad 'bout this."

Jazmine smiled and gently let go of his hand. She lowered the covers a little from her chest. Riley swore he saw part of her left nipple, but kept his cool even when her breasts started to spill over the covers. He felt his heart beating like crazy and sweat building in his palms.

"Would you risk all that…for me?" she lowered her head with a pout. Her eyes locked onto his. "I risked doing this…for you."

Aw, damn. Now she had to jump up and play the guilt card. But hey, she played it well.

Riley had to give her props. Granted, Jazmine could lie better than a damn Persian rug. But, this was possibly a once in a lifetime opportunity. Cindy would be buggin' about Jazmine Marie DuBois, chillin' all butter ball naked up in his bed. Jazmine was looking like it was gonna down and Riley was gonna say "yeah" to her question? He shook his head to answer Jazmine without speaking.

"Good," she said with a nod while she caressed his bare chest.

Riley grinned, his eyes nearly closed. He could feel the intoxicating effects of Jazmine's words and her massage. He gasped when she suddenly hopped on top of him while under the covers.

"Damn, girl! When did you get all freaky?"

"Shhhhh!" Jazmine said with her fingers to his lips. She whispered, "It's an ancient Chinese secret."

Riley chuckled at her attempt of imitating a Chinese girl. His daze ended as soon as he felt the stinging sensation on his cheek. His eyes opened wide to find her glaring at him, her mouth screwed up. What surprised him the most was the fact that her open hand was still in the air as if she had finished taking a swing. Did that girl just slap the taste out his mouth?

'_Oh, no she didn't just slap Young Reezy!'_

He closed his eyes, preparing for another slap.

"Boy, you better get yo' ass outta this bed 'n get ta' takin' out the damn trash!"

Riley's face scrunched up as he glared at the darkness created by the back of his eyelids.

'_Wait, what the hell was going on?' _he thought._ 'Since when did Jazmine sound like Granddad?'_

Riley opened his eyes. He gasped to find Granddad standing over him with a hard scowl. Huey stood by him with his arms folded but he kept the usual emotionless look on his face. But Riley knew he was upset.

He grimaced and covered his face with his pillow to block the sun from burning his eyes. "What the hell, Granddad! Can't a nigga get any sleep?"

"Boy, you crazy? It's seven past nine!" Granddad snatched the pillow and threw it to the side. "Unless you want it to be the last sleep you ever gone have, you gone get up," he threw Riley's covers off his body and onto the floor. "And take them trash bins outside!"

"Man, this some ole' bullshit…" Riley mumbled under his breath.

He got up, rubbed his eyes and trudged out his room. He ignored the stares from Huey and Granddad and slipped on his house shoes sitting right outside his bedroom in the hall. He didn't care he was only in his wife beater and black sweatpants. He could always change later. After he got the job done, he knew he wanted more sleep and his piece of mind back. Plus, he had some important planning to do. That alone time with Jazmine later that night kept eating at his brain. But he could handle it. He was Young Reezy, HR Paper Stacks, Riley Escobar, The Fundraiser, and TN: That Nigga. No chick could turn him down. The only problem was what gift he would get her. He had less than six hours to find something that would put a smile on her face and possibly help him get a foot in the door to later seal the deal. Thinking of it made his brain hurt and he decided to place that decision on the backburner for now.

It felt like forever before he finally got the three large trash bins out from the backyard and out in the street. He could feel the sun on his face and his back. These days every house in Woodcrest had the blue, green and black bins. Riley shook his head with a little smile, thinking of Huey because he complained that the black ones always had to be the ones for garbage while the blue ones were for recycling and the green ones were for grass and leaves. 'Maybe Huey had a point', Riley thought as he turned around and headed towards the house. But, that didn't change the fact that nigga was gay.

"Yo! Reezy! What's good, big baaaaaaaay behhhhhhh?"

He knew that phrase from anywhere. She always called him that since they were kids. Riley turned around to find Cindy right in his face. He took a few steps back and took a good look at the leader of the local Girl Scouts and the White Girl Mob. One thing he dug about that white girl is that like him, she always had on the freshest gear. She tucked her platinum chain in her white tee shirt and stuck a hand in her baby blue jeans pocket. Riley nodded at her non-verbal signal. The sale yesterday went good.

"Sup, C-Murdah," he gave her a pound. "Yo, we still on for tonight, right?"

Cindy nodded. "You know it, boy."

"Aight, cool, cool," Riley rubbed his hands together and smiled. They both walked over to the Freemans' house's front door and sat down in the doorway. "But man, Jazmine gone love what I got in store for her tonight."

Cindy rolled her eyes. "I should know 'cause I helped yo' ass plan it out."

"Girl, you ain't help me wit' shit," he paused to absorb Cindy's slap to his shoulder. "All you did was shoot down all my bright ideas, 'cause you know that pisses me off."

He smirked and nudged her with his elbow. She returned his love tap and laughed. "Yeah, but you know you love that shit."

"Whatever. But yeah, I can't wait 'til tonight, 'cause you see," he paused and looked around. No Granddad, so the coast was clear. "I'm finna get my car and insurance and shit in a few hours. Ed 'n Rummy gone hook a nigga up, on some real shit, you dig?"

Cindy smiled, her light blue eyes growing in size. "What? Fa real? You gettin' yo ride today?" her smile was so big, it looked like it was gonna cover her entire face. "Ohhhhhhhhhh shit! Reezy, you gone be stuntin' like a muh'fucka!"

Riley shushed her and frowned. "Be quiet, Cindy! Damn! Granddad might hear us! He can't find out 'bout it yet. If he do, I ain't gettin' no ride!"

"My bad!" She wrapped an arm around him. "On the real, can't a sista just be excited 'bout the homie finally gettin' some wheels? I'm jus' tryin' ta be happy for ya. I ain't tryin' ta be on some sappy shit, knaw'mean?"

Riley felt a little warm under the collar from Cindy's touch. His cheeks got warmer by the second as he nodded his head. "Yeah, I got'chu. And good lookin' out, you always got a nigga's back."

Looking in her eyes that started to sparkle, he could tell what she was thinking. And that's what he was a little afraid of. She scooted closer to him. "It ain't nothin', Esco."

Every time Cindy called him "Esco", Riley knew she was for real. She always kept it one hundred with him. But calling him by his other alias made it real official. "For real?"

"Oh, you know it," She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He hoped like hell he wasn't blushing. "I mean, c'mon. That's how we supposed ta be, Reezy. You always gonna be my nigga. Win, lose or draw; hickies, busted lips or battle scars. Nothin's gone tear us apart."

Riley hugged her back and let her rest her head on his shoulder. "No doubt, you know? I put that on my life."

"Dammit, boy! I thought I told you 'bout leavin' that front door open!"

Riley cringed from hearing Granddad yell from back in the living room. Cindy sat up and looked at Riley. She snorted from trying her best to keep from laughing.

"Aight, Granddad!"

"Shoot! You lettin' all that hot air come in here! Lawd give me the strength to not get up from this chair and whoop that boy's ass! Always gotta keep tellin' him-"

Riley started to zone out the rest of Granddad's rant. He always said the same shit for everything, so he wasn't missing anything. Both Riley and Cindy stood up, knowing they had to split for now.

Cindy looked inside the house while Granddad continued to yell. "Mr. Freeman can be a trip, for real."

"True. But I'll holla at'chu later at Jazmine's crib, though. Cool?" Riley said while giving Cindy a handshake and a hug.

"Yeah, no doubt, no doubt," she said after they finished.

Before Cindy turned around to head back home, Riley swore he saw her frown. But why did she?

'_Whatever, it didn't matter'_, he thought as he stepped inside his house. It was time to finish his plans.

Back in his room after he calmed Granddad down, he swiped his iPhone off the nightstand and brought up his list of contacts. Pressing the person's picture he was looking for, he turned on the speakerphone and listened to the phone ringing. After a few rings, the contact picked up.

"_Ay Riley! What up, little homie?"_

Riley sat down on his bed, holding the phone in his hand. "Shit, ain't no thang. Jus' doin' mah' thang in these streets, you know? Rick Rossin' it like I usually do. But fa real Ed, you still gonna pick a nigga up so we can check out them rides you was talkin' bout?"

"_No doubt, no doubt. Right now I'm gone swing through Rummy's part of town and pick his ass up, then get you, aight?"_

"Aight, cool. I'll be waitin' outside in a few."

"_Aight. Deuces."_

"Peace."

He brought the iPhone back to the home screen and glared at the time. It was 10:30 am, which meant he had about five hours before Jazmine's get together started. He locked his phone and set it down on the nightstand. Thinking of Jazmine again made him jump. He still didn't know what gift he would get for her birthday. And he had to think of something fast.

Minutes later, a light bulb suddenly went off in his head. He laughed at loud from how slow he was. The perfect gift for Jazmine was about to stare at him right in his face and he was almost about to miss it.

Grabbing his iPhone, he pressed the phone button and redialed Ed's number. It took three rings before Ed finally picked up. _"What's good?"_

"My bad Ed, but this is an emergency, man."

"_Oh yeah? This better be good."_

"It is. And I need yo help."

"_With what?"_

"It's a gift for Jazmine. I'll pay you back. Whatever I gotta do. I just need yo' help in buyin' somethin' for her."

"_Damn, you really like that chick, huh?"_

Riley paused. Should he tell Ed his true feelings? On one hand, if he told Ed, Cindy might find out. But on the other hand, Cindy would probably squeeze it out of him anyway.

"On the real, Ed…it might even be more than that."

...


	6. Chapter 6

**Heart of Porcelain**

By** DaveTheWordsmith**

**Disclaimer: **Boondocks is owned by Sony Pictures Digital Inc. and Aaron McGruder. All the copyrights associated with Boondocks belong to them. Only the ideas contained within this story are the property of the author. No profit is being earned by the writer of this story. And I don't own the iPhone 4S or any of E-40, Al Green, 112 or LL Cool J's songs.

**Note:** Wow, yo I was speechless after getting the reviews for the last chapter. I wanna thank Schweetpea1870, Jazavelli, Starkiss666 and LovinHueyFreeman for giving me feedback and all that good stuff. So yeah, that's enough of that. Let me end this note and get this chapter started, because this story is _far_ from over.

Peace.

* * *

**Chapter Six**

Suits and ties were for gay, uppity niggas.

Riley knew them very well. The type of gay, uppity niggas that walk around like they have a stick up their ass and have their noses up in the air and act like their shit doesn't stink. If you didn't know better, you wouldn't know they came straight out the hood.

Unfortunately, in a few minutes Riley would have to go to Jazmine's house dressed like one of those gay, uppity niggas.

He made a mental note to whoop Cindy's ass later that night. She was cold as ice for telling him the news right after he got his new car, which he would keep a secret until later that night.

Cindy forgot to tell him that Jazmine wanted a formal get-together until that afternoon, which meant Riley would have to become one of the gay, uppity niggas that he mocked every day…at the last minute.

That multiplied his nervousness by ten.

But he couldn't show weakness in front of Cindy. She'd clown him about it as much as she could.

Huey didn't even tell him about the change of plans, which made that the second knife that was thrust in his back. He got dressed and left an hour earlier, muttering something about going to the mall for some political cause, and then he would show up.

Riley heavily exhaled and moped along through the whole ordeal like he was about to be stranded on Death Row. He stared at his tall reflection in the mirror that hung in the hall way which connected the living room to the foyer. No way in a thousand years would Young Reezy dress like he worked at a firm or sat behind a crappy desk, doing paper work and typing on a computer for a living.

He griped, moaned, groaned and complained about wearing a suit all afternoon until Granddad locked both of them in his bedroom until he put on his clothes.

Otherwise, he would get the belt.

Riley grimaced and swallowed a nasty glob of spit down his throat. He remembered how thirty minutes earlier Cindy took a few photos of "the realest nigga of Woodcrest" dressed like he couldn't play in an NBA game and sat in the audience behind his team because he injured his ankle. If it wasn't for the fact he didn't have his belt on, he would've chased her and tackled her to the ground. Even if he had to snatch that phone on some Chris Brown shit, he'd get those photos erased if it was the last thing he ever did.

Riley looked to his left upon hearing Granddad humming his usual song he twisted and applied to almost everything he celebrated in life. Busy straightening his suit jacket and his shirt, his humming soon turned into singing which made Riley cringe. That always got on his nerves, especially as he got older.

Granddad did a little dance, grinning from ear to ear. "New suit! New su-ooh-ooh-oot! New suit! New suit!" he segued out of his singing and into his excited voice. "Yeaaaaaah boy! I got my new suit on! Woo hooooooo!"

"This nigga…" Riley said under his breath so low Granddad couldn't hear it. He rolled his eyes and shook his head.

No that nigga was _not_ singin' about how he got on a new suit.

Scratch that, a new _rented_ suit.

It was a new rented suit he got from Uncle Ruckus. No relation. Riley always wondered how in the hell that nigga worked at damn near every store and location in the city.

His thoughts returned to Granddad who was still admiring himself in the mirror behind Riley. Who does that kind of shit like singing a ditty after getting something new? He could answer that question easily: only his Granddad, of course. From the very beginning, it embarrassed him every time they went shopping. Granndad would be quick to gloat about something, big or small, and Riley had no choice but to grin and bear it; he was his Granddad. What else could he do? Get his ass whooped? Hell no. That was definitely out of the question.

Granddad finished putting on his bow tie on his tuxedo and put his hand on Riley's shoulder. Granddad looked at Riley straight in his eyes, looking at him in the mirror.

"Now boy, Tom may be black, but he's one of the whitest niggas I done ever met," he mentioned this with a roll of his eyes. "And of course you know Sarah is more lily white than my shirt."

His hand gestured to his chest. His eyes grew narrow. His frown became more wrinkled and set in his forehead. "And since this is a formal party, I'm remindin' you to one: don't be talkin' all crazy about Sarah's cooking. If you got nothin' nice to say, don't say nothin' at all! And two: tone it down with that gangsta shit. 'Fore you get us into trouble again."

Riley furrowed his eyebrows, accompanied by a pout. He turned around, folded his arms and glared at Granddad. "What you talkin' bout, Granddad?" he snorted. "You actin' like I ain't got no home trainin'! I know how to act around white folk! You seen me befo'!"

Granddad raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Well what about that time at Ed's garden party when you shot his grandson out his bedroom window with a shotgun?"

Riley's frown became more defined. "I was eight! I ain't know no better back then! But c'mon, he ain't get killed or nuttin'! Ed had on a bulletproof vest, Granddad!"

Granddad continued like he was never interrupted. "Or what about that time last year, at ole cutie pie Cindy's house! You caused a fight with them Camp Fire Girls and shut down cutie pie's whole birthday party!"

Riley tilted his head. "Granddad, them broads was askin' for it! One of them white girls kept tryna touch mah cornrows!" he tapped the top of his head. "Then that other white broad stepped on my brand new J's, actin' like she ain't do nothin'! And Cindy done forgave me 'bout that, so it ain't a problem!"

"And then, last year at the public pool-"

Riley chuckled. "Chill out, Granddad! I'mma be aight!"

Granddad leaned forward into Riley's face. "Oh nigga, hush! My point is, you know better than to be fightin' and shootin' anybody! Especially around white folk! And if it happens again, you should know you ain't too old to get an ass whoopin!"

Granddad marched towards the front door and opened it. The cool evening air that drifted in the house was a reminder to Riley that it was almost six in the evening. Granddad bent over and picked up his present covered in blue wrapping paper that lay by the entrance. Every year, he always had something special to give to Jazmine, a deep contrast to the gift cards he'd hand over to Riley and Huey.

Riley wanted to object to something Granddad had to say, but he knew he couldn't say anything else unless he wanted his ass whooped. Riley followed Granddad until he paused right in front of the doorway and turned to face his grandson.

"Now go and tell cutie pie we about to leave in five minutes. I'll be waitin' outside. Don't be takin' too long like you always do."

Riley didn't have to be told twice. Since he inadvertently got Granddad in a foul mood, there was no time for arguing. He raced up the stairs, ran to the right down the hallway and stopped on a dime at his bedroom door.

He knocked on the door five times. "Yo Cee!" he said, followed by a few more knocks. "Ay! We gotta roll! Granddad waitin' fa us outside! Hurry up!"

No answer. He waited thirty seconds before trying again to get Cindy out of there.

"C'mon, Cindy! Damn! Hurry up! We gotta go!"

Again, no answer.

Disappointed he received the silent treatment Riley placed both hands on the door: one he formed into a fist, the other one palm down. With a smirk, he started to bang them to the rhythm of a particular beat he knew would get Cindy's attention.

_BOOM-BOOM-SMACK! BOOM-BOOM-SMACK! BOOM-BOOM-SMACK! BOOM-BOOM-SMACK!_

On beat with the 'BOOM' parts of his beat, he chanted the hook to the E-40 song he had in mind. "White girl! White girl! White girl! White girl!"

The door opened before he could sing "Whiiiiiiiiiiite girl!" which was his favorite part of the song. He stumbled forward into the doorway due to losing his balance, his right foot tripping over his left. Bent over, he stood up straight to find himself face to face, up close and personal with the white girl he was looking for.

"Damn, Reezy!" Cindy glowered at him, her hands on her hips. "I said I was comin'! You ain't hear me?"

Riley's smirk disappeared, replaced by the large gap from his mouth being wide open. He had to touch his mouth to see if it literally fell on the floor. He took a few steps back to get a good look at her. She looked so…so…

Innocent.

"Cindy" and "innocent" never belonged in the same sentence until that moment.

Riley thought his eyes would shoot out of his head. There was no way in Hell she actually let her blonde hair down to her shoulders without a single ponytail in sight.

But she did tonight.

She even wore a red strapless dress that reached her knees, showing off those nice, smooth, toned legs that she usually covered up with her jeans. Riley could not believe it. This had to be a dream like the one he had the night before about Jazmine.

Riley directed his attention to her feet. The girl put on some matching red sandals? No sneakers? Not even some slippers?

_Cindy done gone white as hell_, he thought.

Ole white girl was actually looking like…a girl! It was like she was on some "rich man's daughter going to the debutante ball" type shit.

Riley wouldn't be surprised if she started to glow and a halo appeared over her head because she looked so innocent, so untouched, so…sexy.

Goddamn, Cindy was lookin' fine as hell, angry face and all.

One of Cindy's eyebrows rose. "What, Reezy?"

She gasped, as if she suddenly realized something horrible happened. She sucked in her lips and walked towards the middle of Riley's room with him on her heels. "Aw, shit, I put on too much lipstick, huh?" she paused as if to let Riley answer, but interrupted him anyway. "I knew it! I did! Fuck, I knew I shoulda been mo chill 'bout that…"

Before she could turn and dash out the room, he took hold of her wrist. She turned to face him. He shook his head. "Naw, Cee…you straight."

Her eyes and ears perked up. She smiled. "Fo' real?"

His voice quivered a little as it pierced through the few uncharacteristic moments of silence they shared. "Fo' real. Now relax, girl. Look at'chu! Gettin' all scared 'n shit over some makeup and clothes. That ain't the C-Murdah I know."

She grinned. "You right. I was trippin'. Beans wouldn't let nothin' scare him. So I ain't gonna let nothin' scare me either."

He nodded. "Yeah. Jus' chill out. Like I said, you lookin' fine, baby."

_Wait, what?_ What the hell was going on? Since when did he think Cindy was fine? And since when did he call her baby?

Sure, he looked at her titties and ass when she wasn't looking, but he couldn't help it. He always needed to sneak himself a peek, even if they were homies. This time, though, Cindy was getting quite a bit of attention from a certain body part that lay between his legs. He tried his best not to turn to the side and prayed he wasn't pitching a tent.

She laughed and turning her head. Was that girl blushing? And she was trying to hide it? "What'chu say, Reeze?"

"Uhhhhhh, I was sayin'…I was sayin'…that uh, you know…" he coughed and cleared his throat. He felt his pulse throb in his forehead and sweat start to gather in his palms. He had to think of something and fast. Being someone who always came up with something on the spot, Riley said with a smirk and a shrug of his shoulders, "You look aight."

"Psssh! Whateva, nigga! You know you like what'chu see!" Cindy shoved Riley's shoulder as she passed him by to leave his room.

He yelled at her back, "Whatever! You know I'm right, white girl! That's why you mad 'n shit!"

He chuckled. It was so easy to get on her last nerves.

Before he joined Cindy out in the hallway, he glanced at his trembling hands. Why did he feel so jumpy? The only time he felt like that was when…

He stopped himself in mid thought. _Get a hold of yo'self, nigga. You after Jazmine. Not Cindy. Cindy's the homie. Jaz is the girl you want. Not Cindy. Chill out, nigga. Stay focused. Huey ain't goin' after her right now, so now's yo chance._

He took a deep breath. All he had to do was go to the Dubois' crib, chill with her for a little while and then give Jazmine her gift and ask her out. With Cindy's help, everything was gonna be all right.

_Damn, this is prolly gonna be harder than I thought. But I ain't gone give up. I'm Young Reezy. I'mma be aight._

He placed a hand in his left pants pocket. The feel of the rectangular leather box made him sigh in relief. For a second, he worried that he lost the box. Ed would be mad as fuck.

Riley remembered how angry Wunclers get when they don't get their money or find out something they bought was lost or stolen. He would never forget how pissed off Ed sounded about how his drug deal with Thugnificent went bad, bringing coke with him all for nothing.

Cindy's voice from the hallway brought him back to reality. "C'mon, boy! Yo Granddad's honkin' his horn like he mad as hell! Let's bounce!"

Before they left, Riley promised to only look in the mirror one last time. He saw with disgust how his black slacks held up by his matching belt pulled so hard on his boxers. Then what was worse was how far Granddad tucked in his dark gray shirt, feeling like it went down damn near to his narrow black socks, which made his feet itch like a motherfucker. His black Kenneth Cole shoes were so tight, he worried if he walked too fast he'd set his feet on fire. The only thing to make him calm down was at least he didn't end up like Theo Huxtable with his "Gordon Gartrelle" shirt that ended up being a "clown shirt".

Riley hated how Granddad always had to help him get his formal clothes on even though he was about to turn sixteen in a few months.

With a silent sigh, Riley stepped outside the house and got in the backseat next to Cindy.

"Took you long enough," Granddad muttered. "Now let's go."

He put Dorothy in reverse and slowly pulled out the driveway. He turned the volume knob up on the radio. Al Green started to sing, suggesting to his woman that they should get married. Riley remarked about how gay he sounded doing a song about marriage, which resulted in him getting a quick, hard slap on the back of the head from Granddad. Cindy laughed and pointed at him and his misfortune.

Riley could see Granddad glowering at him in the rear view mirror. "Don't you dare talk about the great Reverend Al Green like that, boy!"

Riley had no response. He only rubbed the back of his head, mumbling and cursing under his breath.

On the short car ride over to the Dubois residence, Cindy chuckled after she took one more picture with her iPhone of Riley pouting with his arms folded.

"Gotcha again, sucka!"

_Cindy lucky Granddad's here and that she a girl, or else she would've been smacked up a long time ago_, Riley thought.

She talked while her fingers ran rampant on the touch screen. "Hah, my girls gone love seein' this at our next meeting."

She laughed some more at the sight of Riley's frown and him starting to show some teeth. "You lookin' real fierce, Reeze. If 50 Cent can rock a suit, so can you."

"Don't be hatin' Cindy," Riley said with a smile. "I'm the only nigga that can rock a suit and still look gangsta."

She rolled her eyes with a small smirk. "In yo dreams, Reezy."

"I'mma take that as a yes, then."

"F you."

A minute later, Granddad parked Dorothy on the street right outside the Dubois residence. Everyone got out the car before Granddad put on the alarm and walked up the pathway to the front door. Tom and Sarah opened the door before they made it and greeted them with a smile.

Tom chuckled. "Robert! Riley! Cindy! Glad to see you guys could make it! Come in!"

Riley and Cindy brushed by him before he could move. "Yeah, whatever," they said in unison.

They headed for the backyard where they saw their peers behind the sliding glass doors socializing around the numerous tables full of food and drinks. A few large party tents stood in the middle of the yard behind the swimming pool. Sparkling lights helped light up the night, switching between red, blue, purple and pink. Riley nudged Cindy with his arm and pointed at the two girls dressed in red, white and blue dresses with their Camp Fire badges on their chests. They stood by the punch bowl, chatting and laughing.

"Yeah, I see 'em, Reezy," she said as Riley held the door open for her to go through first. "They prolly gone act like nothin' happened at my party last year. But if they start somethin', I swear I'll beat the breaks off they asses."

"Roger that."

Riley closed the door behind them. 112's "Only You" remix featuring Biggie and Mase blared loudly from the speakers by the tents. They stood by the glass doors, watching the kids and adults mingle and sitting in at the tables, eating or playing cards.

"Damn, Jaz got this place hooked up. Lookin' all professional 'n shit."

Cindy cleared her throat until he glared at her. He rolled his eyes. "Fine, you 'n Jaz. Damn. Always gotta get yo props in all the time-OWWW!"

"Shut up!" she laughed after she pinched Riley's shoulder and talked while she watched him rub his shoulder. "I did just as much as she did, so stop it."

Before he could dish out a retort, the smiling guest of honor approached them.

"Oh my gosh! Cindy! Riley! You guys made it!"

Goddamn, Jazmine was so fine.

He felt like the Tex Avery wolf the way his eyes danced in his head and his jaw dropped. He had to silently suck in the drool that was about to spill out his mouth.

After she finished hugging Cindy to death, he finally got a good look at Jazmine while they were talking about random girl-centric topics. Her pink dress almost mirrored Cindy's except hers reached the floor and she had a left strap. He wished like crazy that she could keep walking all night the way her thick, smooth, honey brown legs would give Riley a peek every now and then from the slits on both sides of her dress. Riley was surprised she let her light, kinky, orange hair down out of the pair of afro puffs she always had. Her style reminded him of that R&B singer Corinne Bailey Rae he saw on TV the other night. Riley knew without a doubt she was the flyest chick up in the spot.

LL Cool J's song "Luv U Better" seamlessly replaced 112. It was as if the playlist Cindy set up for the get-together read his mind.

"_I love you, let you show you what I mean,"_ Riley heard LL say amidst the silence the three childhood friends shared.

He laughed as he heard the rest of the lyrics. If it was one nigga that could get away with saying some gay, simp shit but still sound hard and even gangsta, it was LL.

Jazmine stopped talking to Cindy. Her light green eyes met his. She smiled. "Hey, Riley."

Her words sounded like a soft whisper, as if only he needed to hear. In the blink of an eye, he found himself in her warm, soft embrace. He closed his eyes, letting himself enjoy the feeling of her body on his.

He spoke lightly in her ear, "Hey, Jay. Happy birthday."

She did the same. "Thank you."

Riley felt an inkling of doubt creep into his mind. _This had to be another one of those dumb dreams_, he pondered. _It feels too good to be true._ He bit the inside of his mouth and felt the pain.

Nope. This was for real.

Riley felt his happiness start to dwindle once Jazmine let him go. Damn she was so soft, so smooth. He wished like crazy he could hug her again. Maybe later on, he mused.

With a smile, he once again became a spectator to Jazmine and Cindy talking about random stuff. One advantage to being a man was you could tune out trivial bullshit, which included their conversation. He continued to listen to LL rap about loving his chick better than any other nigga.

In the meantime, he couldn't keep his eyes off the birthday girl, and possibly later on that night, _his_ girl.

...


	7. Chapter 7

**Heart of Porcelain**

By** DaveTheWordsmith**

**Disclaimer: **Boondocks is owned by Sony Pictures Digital Inc. and Aaron McGruder. All the copyrights associated with Boondocks belong to them. Only the ideas contained within this story are the property of the author. No profit is being earned by the writer of this story. And I don't own any of the songs or commercial products mentioned in this story.

**1st Note: **Man, just lettin' you know off the rip, I'm gonna take it _real_ old school on this chapter and change things up a lil' bit. But before I get into that, I wanna give a big shout-out to StarKiss666, Boondocks23, LovinHueyFreeman and Schweetpea1870. Your reviews are off the chain, man. And I got individual notes to send to y'all later. Also, I wanna give props to everyone who took the time to read this story from the beginning, when it first started, and to all of y'all who just found out about it and give your support through reviews, putting the story on alert or making it one of your favorites. Makes ya boy feel real proud, ya know? Anyway, you'll probably notice things are a little different in this chapter. Let me know what you think. Should it stay the same or take it back to the format from the beginning of the story? I'll elaborate more on that in the 2nd note at the end. Yo, I'm talkin' too much again, so I'm gonna sign on out 'til the end of the chapter where I'll have more to say.

Peace.

* * *

"_Fallen, head over heels I've fallen  
In love with you, I've fallen  
And I can't get up, don't wanna get up  
Because of love"_

_-Mya, "Fallen"_

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

The light auburn haired girl watched the majority of the adults and her classmates and friends leave after a successful two hours of eating, gift opening and dancing with her father, the only person he allowed her to dance with. At that moment, it finally hit her. She was now an adult. That meant more new responsibilities that came with being of age. If she wanted, she could buy a weapon, stay out after curfew, and even get a piercing or a tattoo!

But Jazmine knew better than that. She pinched her forearm. _Don't get too ahead of yourself, Dubois_, she thought. _Daddy would kill me if I did any of those things._

After she asked Cindy a question to let her carry the conversation, she couldn't help but feel proud, so assured. Everything that evening went so well. Even the _food_ her _mom_ prepared was so good. Yes, that lady, her mother, Sarah Dubois. It definitely showed after all those years how much she took Riley and even some of Mr. Freeman's criticisms of her cooking to heart. She took many cooking lessons and watched so many cooking shows, and at last she finally hit her stride. Her peach cobbler was so good, everyone had seconds, and some even had thirds.

Jazmine really loved how her gifts were so wonderful and what she always wanted: plenty of new clothes, earrings, and of course money, in the form of a bunch of gift cards. She felt so good being eighteen. Now she could yell from the mountaintops that she had her very first formal birthday party.

Well, mostly formal.

From the day she hit seventeen and a half years old until the morning of the eighteenth anniversary of her birth, she overheard her daddy talk to her mom about what to do for her party, where it should take place and other things he wanted for the party to be special. Jazmine was about to offer an idea, but her mom beat her to the punch. A formal party at first sounded kind of weird, but then she had a change of heart. She realized that those typical, kiddy parties were so eight years ago. She would soon be eighteen and she wanted to enjoy it as much as possible. And what better way than to do something grown women do, especially in Woodcrest: throw a party and revel in glorious suburban festivities!

Jazmine smiled, so wrapped up in happiness about her birthday. She felt very pleased reminiscing about happy thoughts. Only one fact threw things off: it wasn't her true birthday. Her birthday was the previous Friday. But, a celebration of no longer being a minor on the following Saturday was just fine. Jazmine was cognizant of the idea that her eighteenth birthday should be special and a moment to remember, and she would do whatever it took as long as they were able to have typical party food and the right music in lieu of the mundane, rich, stuck-up, fancy food and boring classical music. Her daddy always tried to make her listen to that stuff as a toddler but like him, she favored R&B and hip-hop over everything else. Thankfully, she had better taste. And as long as it wasn't about bitches, hoes, money and clothes all of the time, she enjoyed it, even some pop and rock music, too.

Jazmine felt her heart drop after thinking about her morning birthday breakfast, specifically the way she rolled her eyes at her father while he hugged her and sobbed, whining about how his baby girl was becoming a young woman. It was so embarrassing. Even if it was just her mom who witnessed that moment, she could distinctly remember the way she bit her bottom lip and lightly groaned in annoyance. While trapped in her father's embrace, Jazmine looked her mom dead in the eyes. She appeared to speak to her daughter through the sparkles in her baby blue eyes, as if to say, "Let him cry just this once." He finally let Jazmine go and took a brief moment to blow his nose and apologize. At that moment, the idea of being excused to go hang out with Cindy never felt so good.

One part of her heart, however, felt completely devastated. Huey still had not shown up to her party. Every time someone showed up in the living room or in the back yard, she held her breath, wishing it was Huey. Instead, it was someone else, usually Riley or Cindy. Although they separated a month ago, a segment of her being still wanted him around, even if it was for a few minutes. She was not one to dwell on bashing him, but she also realized getting back with him was nearly impossible. He was not the type to immediately change his mind or reconcile with anyone, even Mr. Freeman or Riley.

Speaking of Riley, Jazmine couldn't help but think back on how fun she had. A few hours ago in the living room, her daddy announced he had a song he wanted to dedicate to his daughter and started to list the many reasons why he loved her. She began to shed tears while Stevie Wonder's "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" played from the karaoke machine and he started to sing. However, she started to laugh through her tears after Riley stood up in the sofa, drink in hand, and booed, making her daddy and the music stop.

_"Ay! Stevie No Wonder! Shut the hell up! Stop wit' the-"_

Before he could finish, Granddad snatched Riley by the collar and dragged him out of the room, chastising him about his behavior. Everyone cringed as they heard the elder black resident of Woodcrest yelling and possibly hitting him in the bathroom down the hall. After Riley returned, lips poked out and with hunched shoulders, he mumbled an apology to Jazmine and her father. She also heard him apologize about not giving her a gift earlier, but mentioned something about revealing it later after everyone was gone, whatever that meant.

Now back in the present, Jazmine tapped her glass of sparkling apple cider sitting in front of her on the table covered by a soft red cloth. It was only a few hours ago since she saw first Riley and Cindy arrive to the party and her happiness was still through the roof. Thankfully, her parents allowed the two to stay longer after the rest of her guests left. Even if she had to cry to get her way, she felt the end justified the means. Her smile never left her face while they sat together eating their "second dinner", seeing how the first one they had with everyone around was not enough, and laughing her head off while discussing typical topics teenagers loved to talk about. After fifteen minutes, Riley excused himself to go get some more food while Jazmine stayed with Cindy to finish their chat.

Jazmine's fingers moved to the beat of the Neptunes-produced song coming from Cindy's iPhone lying on the table, hooked up to some portable speakers. Usher vehemently proclaimed it was okay that his girl didn't have to call and he would be all right tonight. Jazmine snorted in disgust, wondering if a certain someone was doing the same thing. She glanced at Cindy who sat across from her, still mentioning gossip about Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, The real Housewives of South Central, Snoop Dogg, Beanie Sigel, and other celebrities. Jazmine grinned, thinking how amazing it was to witness her blond friend simultaneously chomp down on her pizza and speak so clearly.

"I don't get why that bitch Tameka jus' don't gone 'head and marry that nigga. I mean, she stay goin' back to him after breakin' up with a dude," Cindy said before she took another bite of her pepperoni pizza. She paused to roll her eyes and shake her head, visibly upset about an episode of The Crazy Bitches Club. After a quick sip of her root beer and a loud burp, she continued. "And then Shara tried tellin' Amber's stupid ass to stay away from her ex. But did she? Hell no! And what happened? She got her ass whooped! I don't feel sorry for that bitch! That's what her dumb ass get."

Jazmine felt her smile begin to weaken and slowly curve downward into a straight line. Tameka's situation sounded so similar to her own, which brought her to the horrible thoughts that lingered in her brain: the many negative perceptions of a particular domestic terrorist.

She lifted her head to look at the full moon and the bright, white stars that hovered in the charcoal colored sky. It wasn't often they could see them so clearly in Woodcrest. Every time she saw them, she felt like she was ten years old all over again, sitting under the tree on the hill with him. She tried her best to act interested in what Cindy was talking about, but she almost cringed when she heard how quiet she sounded. "I know, right?"

Cindy sighed. Her face became long, more forlorn. "You aight?"

"I thought I was…"

Jazmine noticed Cindy's light blue eyes looked like they were pouting as if they were intentionally trying to match the emotion of her lips. "I didn't realize shit was that serious wit'chu and…him."

Jazmine shivered in the inside when she felt an icy chill shoot up and then down her spine upon the sound of Cindy saying 'him'. She knew who 'him' was: Huey Freeman. She didn't need any more hints to figure it out.

She mustered up enough strength to display a small smile that lasted only a few seconds. The tears were coming, tickling the back of her eyeballs, but she managed to temporarily fight them off. She looked down at her hands in her lap, her fingers intertwined. "It's okay. I thought we were supposed to be together. I believed him last year when he told me he loved me," she sighed. "It was so beautiful, Cin…until we broke up."

Cindy shrugged her shoulders and sucked her teeth. "C'mon girl, don't let Huey get'chu down. There's other guys out there who want'chu. You know that."

Jazmine allowed her lips to form a half-smile. "Stop lying."

Cindy shook her head. "Naw! I'm forreal! Them dudes every day be comin' up to me like, 'Yo, is Jazmine single?' Or when we at the mall or somethin, dudes be like, 'Ay, who's your fine friend over there?' I get asked that shit all the time, and it hurts my heart lettin' these niggas down, sayin' shit like 'Naw, she's taken, dude!' Or, 'Sorry, but my beautiful friend already got a man!' Jay, you should see them dudes' faces after I tell 'em the truth. They be straight lookin' like they found out they got full blown AIDS or somethin'!"

Jazmine scoffed at Cindy. "Whatever. But…"

"But what?"

Jazmine twirled a strand of her hair around her finger. "Um…"

"Uh oh," Cindy said. She rolled her eyes. "Please don't be thinkin' what you prolly thinkin' about."

"Yeah…him."

Jazmine watched Cindy nod, knowing who 'him' referred to. "Well, what about that nigga? He ain't hurt you enough to forget about him?"

"I think I still may have feelings for him…"

Cindy rolled her eyes again. "Forget about him, girl. Beans wouldn't let no random broad make him start catchin' feelings after he leaves her. You shouldn't let no nigga do that to you, either."

Jazmine folded her arms across her chest. "Um Cindy, now is not the best time to bring up Beanie Sigel and what he would do, like he's an ancient, wise kung fu master or a religious prophet or something."

"Whatever, you know he's right and that I'm right for bringin' it up," Cindy waved Jazmine's words away as if to say non-verbally there was no need for them. She held her second slice of pizza in one hand, her drink in the other. "But forreal, don't worry about Huey right now. It's yo birthday. Live it up. You can't let one stupid ass monkey stop no show."

Jazmine smirked. "Cindy, it's so coincidental how funny but racist that sounded coming from you."

Cindy bridled and scoffed. "Nigga, hush," she said. Her face relaxed and she smiled. "You know I ain't no racist. Huey does remind me of a monkey, though. The way he be actin' is so stupid."

Jazmine giggled. "You know you're no good."

"C'mon, you know Huey stay trippin'. Ceez shoulda been knockin' some sense into that nigga!"

Jazmine's eyes widened upon Cindy's voice getting louder, sounding more irritable. "Cindy-"

Cindy slammed her palm on the table. "No! Lemme finish, Jazmine. That nigga, he got…no scratch that…_had_ a girl who always loved him no matter how racist, inconsiderate, hurtful and crazy that nigga acted. He shoulda been lucky you would deal with him for so long. And after all that love you gave him, he had to go off and-" she stopped and cleared her throat. She knew saying any word that was a synonym for 'cheating' would be bad news. Jazmine could tell. She kept quiet while Cindy continued to vent. "Went off and did that crazy shit these dumb ass niggas be doin' when they got a good woman on they arm. A goddamn shame, man."

Jazmine remained quiet for a minute, taking what Cindy said to heart. But what if Huey still had feelings for her? How would she deal with that? And what if Huey was completely over her? Usher faded away and immediately Tamia started to sing about how she was inexplicably so into her man. Jazmine realized how funny it was they were talking about letting Huey go and Tamia was doing the opposite in song form.

Meanwhile, she remained all ears while Cindy talked for a few more minutes about dumb ass niggas, relationships and other things about love. Once Riley's right hand girl finished, Jazmine tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. "Um, are you done talking out of your butt now?"

Cindy laughed and wiped her brow. "Yeah, for now. But hey, just remember one thing. Remember that I did all that yellin' for you, 'cause you too nice and won't call Huey what he really is, you miss goody two-shoes."

Jazmine felt her cheeks warm up. She knew Cindy had a point, but she couldn't go out like no punk. "I'm not a miss goody two-shoes! I can be bad too, you know!" she exhaled sharply. "Like, remember last month? I told daddy about going to piano practice. And guess what? I didn't really go to practice."

Cindy gave her that 'girl, please' look and rolled her eyes from Jazmine winking at her. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. You lied and really went to the school dance with Huey when yo' daddy told you not to go. Blah, blah, blah. C'mon girl, that ain't shit. I was doin' that back in middle school, thinkin' I was so gangsta, but that shit ain't gangsta," she blew Jazmine's statement off with a few waves of her hand. "Call me when you finally get to doin' some real, bad, dirty, lowdown shit, aight light skin?"

Jazmine snorted. "Whatever, white girl. I can be bad. You know what? I'll be bad starting tonight."

Cindy pursed her lips. "Yeah right, mixed chick."

Jazmine chortled and leered at Cindy. "Shut your pie hole, you asshole."

Cindy gasped at a blushing Jazmine. "Oh my God! You cussed! That's so unlike you," she broke into a sly smile. "But I like it! Cuss some more!"

They both enjoyed a hearty laugh, always able to get a kick out of one of their many inside jokes. Jazmine noticed her favorite Timbaland & Magoo song "Up Jumps Da Boogie" with Missy and Aaliyah came on next. Her head mildly bobbed to the beat. Cindy grabbed the deck of cards in the middle of the table, shuffled them and passed out eight cards, face down, to Jazmine and then herself to play a few rounds of crazy eights. Jazmine looked at her cards while keeping a straight face, one good thing she learned from Huey. Her eyes went up to Cindy, who was busy looking at her hand. If it was one other thing Cindy knew how to do very well besides hustling, it was to play cards. Even Huey had trouble beating her. Jazmine smiled a little at the memory from a year ago about how Cindy declared her poker face would make Lady Gaga jealous.

Jazmine placed an eight of hearts down to match Cindy's king of hearts. Maybe it was a good time to change subjects, something lighter than her relationship woes. "Heard from Caesar lately?"

She dropped a six of hearts in the pile. "Matter of fact, I did. The nigga hit me up a few hours ago. Said he'd stop by soon. Had some shit to take care of before he comes by," she drew cards after she couldn't match Jazmine's jack of hearts and after her third card was drawn, she put down a seven of hearts. "That Beenie Man lookin' ass nigga prolly got caught up with his new producing gig he got. Thinkin' he all that and a bag of chips and bean dip and shit just 'cause a few niggas in the neighborhood and even Thugnificent want him to put some beats together. Psssh! Big deal."

"Well, I'm proud of him," she played a seven of spades. "For a while he stopped MCing for good. I think it's because he was so depressed about…his situation, y'know, with his parents?"

"True. I'll be real, though. I can't get enough of that nigga. He always kept it real," Cindy drew cards from the pile of cards until she found a seven of diamonds and put it over the seven of spades. "And I gotta give him props. That nigga can play the dozens for days. 'Member that battle him and Reezy had last year after school?"

Jazmine laughed. She kept talking through her ongoing fits of laughter. "Yeah! I remember Caesar said Riley's mom was so fat, the only alphabet she knows is K-F-C!"

"And he was like, Reezy's moms is so fat she woke up in sections!"

"That was so funny!"

Cindy took a few moments to respond, due to laughing so much. "Yo, Reezy did aight though in the beginning. The nigga said, 'Yo moms so dumb, she went to the dentist askin' for a bluetooth'! That was aight. But Ceez had 'em in the end. Can you believe that muh'fucka said Reezy's moms is so old she knew Burger King back when that nigga was a prince?"

Both Jazmine and Cindy leaned back in their chairs, heads tilted back, laughing their butts off. Cindy hugged her stomach while Jazmine had her hand on her forehead.

Jazmine wiped the tears from her eyes. She felt lucky she didn't put on any mascara. "Oh gosh, those were some good times."

Cindy let out a content sounding sigh. She nodded and chuckled for a few moments. "No doubt. That nigga funny than a muh'fucka."

"Yeah…" Jazmine said. She tossed a card over Cindy's seven of spades. "So…um…how's Riley doing?"

Cindy sighed and then played a two of clubs. "He straight. Still doin' what he do. Actin' crazy and thinkin' he always the realest nigga in the streets, and of course, still gettin' in trouble with Mr. Freeman," she paused to let Jazmine giggle. "But that's the homie, ya know? We go back like spinal cords in car seats. We always gone be tight, namean? Deep down, once you get to know him, he's a cool dude. He even startin' to mature. You see him in his suit? I wasn't gone say this to his face, but he do look kinda sharp tonight."

Jazmine smiled, watching Riley fix a drink at the table lined up with Sierra Mist, Pepsi and Sunkist bottles and red cups. As he took a sip, he made eye contact with her. He smiled and followed up with a wink. That warm, tingling feeling manifested in her cheeks. She grinned and then looked at Cindy. "Mmm hmm."

"Still can't believe he gone be 16 in a few months. Feels like it was just yesterday when he was a lil' ass g runnin' the streets, tryna keep it real and act hard and all that shit. Now he almost out of high school, gettin' his grown man on. I ain't mad at 'em."

Jazmine leaned forward on the table to get a closer look at him, the right side of her face resting in her right hand, and her cards clutched in her left hand. She knew her eyes were half-lidded, feeling like she was in a trance, but she didn't care. For some inexplicable reason, her heart skipped a beat when she first laid eyes on him that night, and it skipped a few more during the two following times she spotted him. And she would be lying if she believed those were the first times that happened. It must have started around the time she turned seventeen, perhaps? She couldn't help it if she stole a few glances at Riley while hanging with Huey and Cindy. But now her feelings felt so elated, so magnified, it was becoming impossible to hide them any longer. But why? Jazmine chuckled in her head, thinking her mom must have put something in the DiGiorno pizza. She just could not stop staring at her ex's little brother!

She could not fathom that for once, Cindy was right about something that involved the wilder of the two Freeman boys. Cindy typically backed Riley up on some BS like when he got in trouble with the law, but this time her reasons seemed genuine. Jazmine continued to watch him while she took a few sips of her drink. He grabbed a few slices of pizza and breadsticks from the long table full of food and piled them on his plate. She let out a rapture-filled sigh when he faced her, although his eyes weren't on her. Tonight, it was almost like he was a different person. Not Young Reezy or "The Fundraiser", but Riley Freeman, the fifteen year old boy who moved to Woodcrest with Huey and Mr. Freeman seven years ago.

Suddenly remembering it was her turn, she threw a card in the pile. "Mmm hmm."

Cindy snorted. "Can you believe he just got some new ride? It gotta be somethin' real good 'cause he ain't showed it to me. Talkin' 'bout he don't want nobody gettin' it dirty and shit," Cindy scoffed, "Ole stingy ass nigga. Don't want nobody in it but him."

Jazmine scooted back in her chair and took her turn to play a card. "Mmm hmm…"

"Jazmine!" Cindy dropped her cards hand and glared at Jazmine. "Pay attention!"

Jazmine almost dropped her cards in her left hand. "Huh?"

"You put two cards in that muh'fucka before I could put mines in!"

Jazmine took her card back. "Uh, o-oh. Sorry."

Cindy's look of surprise faded away, replaced with a smug grin. "Mmmm, I know what's goin' on wit'chu."

Jazmine raised her eyebrows. "What are you talking about, McPhearson?"

"What I'm saying, Dubois, is you was mmm hmm'ing too much."

Jazmine made a quick, mock laugh. "So? What's that supposed to mean?"

"You 'mmm hmm' all the time when you start thinkin' 'bout two things: your daydreams 'bout Usher and someone you startin' to like."

It started to feel like a giant flame was held up right next to Jazmine's cheeks. Was she truly infatuated with the idea of hooking up with Riley? No way. That couldn't be true, right? She shook her head. "No, I don't!"

"Yes you do!" Cindy grinned. Jazmine stroked her chin, wondering if she could see through her façade of her indifference towards Riley. "And you started right when I was talkin' 'bout Reezy."

Jazmine froze. That Caucasian girl always found a way to see through her "disguise". The silence in their conversation started to rattle her nerves. Jay-Z broke the silence, rapping about how he was a pimp by blood, not relation. Pharrell took over after his verse, singing about giving it to him. Meanwhile, Jazmine bit her lip, unsure about what to say. What lie could she say? And would Cindy believe her?

"I think you startin' to like him."

She put a hand on her chest. "Me? Starting to like Riley? No!"

Cindy refused to stop smiling. "Stop lyin. I can see it in yo face."

"Cindy, don't be the kettle calling the pot or the pot calling the kettle!" Jazmine smirked. She held up her right hand and wagged her pointer finger. "You're the last one to be call someone out for lying, Cindy."

Cindy folded her arms and frowned. "Uh oh, here we go. Yo' black side's upset at me again."

"Remember that time you went with Caesar to the movies when Huey and I couldn't go? And when you guys came back, you two were dead quiet, sitting on the opposite sides of Mr. Freeman's couch and acting all awkward. And when I asked about what happened between you two, you didn't want to talk about it!"

Cindy quickly swallowed the rest of her drink and set her cup down. "Um, it wasn't nothin'! We was just, um, hangin' out, and um, chillin'! Yeah! Down at the mall, you know? Um, you know, doin' what homies do! Um, yeah! That's all that happened! I put that on my life!"

"When you say 'um' a lot, you're lying."

Cindy flipped the bird, prompting Jazmine to stick her tongue out at her. "Just shut the fuck up and play cards."

Jazmine smiled. She knew she won that time. She leaned back in her seat and played another card to start the next game. Dru Hill started to sing about never making a promise you can't keep, which started to remind Jazmine of Huey, and she tried her best to get him out of her mind. Ever since they parted ways, he always found a way to wander back into her thoughts.

Meanwhile, Cindy continued to talk about Riley, Caesar and everything about them that got on her nerves. Jazmine waited until Cindy took her turn and played her last card to win the game. She did a little dance in her chair while Cindy poked out her lips and frowned. "You got lucky that time, mulatto girl."

Jazmine raked in all the cards, put them in a neat pile and shuffled the cards. She let Biggie, Mary J. Blige & Faith Evans' "One More Chance" play on for a few moments while thinking of a comeback. "No such thing as luck, Iggy Azalea."

She smiled, knowing her words burned Cindy slightly in the inside. She hated being compared to white rappers, especially Kreayshawn or Iggy. "Yeah there is, Esperanza Spalding."

Jazmine peeled a piece of pepperoni from her pizza and tossed it at Cindy. She giggled after it bounced off Cindy's cheek.

"Girl, stop!"

"See? Luck didn't stop you from getting hit!"

Cindy chuckled and threw it back at Jazmine, hitting her in the forehead. "Oh yeah? Well luck let me do that!"

"Ay," a familiar male voice said. "Guess who finally decided to show his Sway Calloway lookin' ass on up?"

Jazmine looked to her right, Cindy to her left, to find Riley, plate full of food in his left hand. Next to him stood a familiar friend, several inches taller than Riley, not counting his tall, black beanie visor. His shiny, black suit immediately made Jazmine's eyes dance in her head. It looked so nice on him. He put his plate full of food down on the table and took the seat next to Cindy, while Riley decided to sit next to the birthday girl.

Jazmine smiled. She could feel her cheeks start to sting from how hard her facial muscles were stretching. It had to have been weeks since she last saw the half-Jamaican Brooklyn native. "Caesar! You made it!"

He nodded, ignoring a few locks that fell in front of his face, and extended his arm out towards her, hand folded into a fist. She returned the gesture, performing a fist bump and giggled. "C'mon, Jay, you know I would, even if I _am_ late. 'Sides," he said. He looked at his plate. "Somebody gotta eat the rest of this pizza for you."

Jazmine looked down at the table, grinning. She could tell she was blushing. No matter how many times she received praise for something, the next time always felt like the first time. "Thanks."

Cindy clapped Caesar's shoulder. "Hol' up, Ceez. Weren't you with Huey though? Why ain't he here?"

Caesar shook his head, the smile from his face long gone. "I was with him. But we were so caught up with our strike I lost track of the time. When I realized we had to leave, it was already past eight o'clock. So I tell him, 'Yo Huey, chill out on the strikes, dude! We gotta go to Jay's party!' But he said to go without him. I'm like 'forreal?" He's like 'Yeah'. So I'm thinkin' to myself, 'Yo, this dude really ain't comin'?' But you know how Huey is. Once he got his mind set on somethin', that's all he's gonna worry about. And you can't stop him from changing his mind. The only one who can do that is him."

Riley rolled his eyes. "Ay, with him doin' all that marchin' and shit all day, you shoulda told that nigga to take a shower first, smellin' like hot ass chitlins and rotten eggs and shit."

Caesar chuckled. "I shoulda told him to step in front of a train made of deodorant and dove soap and let it hit him face first," he said. He stopped laughing. "But nah, it wasn't like he woulda listened to me anyway. Lately, he's been in his own world. I bet you right now he's probably at the mall or downtown, talkin' to random people about civil rights or how certain laws don't have enough moderation or equality. It's like ever since Obama got elected, he been getting more and more isolated from us."

Jazmine sighed, listening to Aaliyah declare her man's love is one in a million. She felt her heart sink down to her stomach, which was completely full of fluttering butterflies. Caesar's words continued to repeat in her mind in a loop. She couldn't admit it out loud, but he had a point, and a darn good one, too. The whole Fried Chicken Flu fiasco was just the tip of the iceberg. Huey went to black organization meetings every week and cared less about extracurricular activities at school and hanging out with her and Caesar on the hill like they used to back in grade and middle school.

"Hey, Jay," Caesar said, stirring Jazmine from her thoughts. His Brooklyn accent always reminded her, and most likely everyone else in Woodcrest, of where he came from. He placed a present covered in neatly wrapped black paper on the table. A pink envelope was taped on top. "I know we were late for the gift giving, me and Trey Songz over there," he said before giving Riley "the eye". He tossed his balled up napkin at the realest nigga of Woodcrest, who frowned. "And I heard from a little birdy that Cindy gave you somethin' ahead of time. So I got this for you. Not just for your birthday, but to compensate in lieu of my lateness."

Jazmine looked in awe at the present that Caesar slid over to her side of the table. It was rectangular and about the size of a laptop. "Aw, Ceez…"

Riley sucked on his teeth and rolled his eyes. "Oh here we go with this nigga usin' big words again."

Before Caesar could respond, the sound of paper being shredded caught everyone by surprise, except for the guest of honor. Jazmine wasted no time in ripping the envelope from the present and tore the flap open. After reading the card, she smiled and thanked Caesar. In the blink of an eye, she lunged for the present and tore apart the wrapping paper like a girl gone mad.

Cindy chortled. She watched Jazmine go to town until she made it to the white cardboard box. "Damn, Jazzy, it ain't that serious!"

Caesar nudged Cindy in the ribs. "C'mon C-Murdah, if she wanna tear shit up like the Tasmanian Devil then let her."

Jazmine lifted the lid from the box and grin grew in size after she saw what the present was. She held up the black satin laptop carrying case with a golden horse on the front that shined in the dark. Turning it from side to side, she let everyone see it before she put it back in the box and set it by her feet. "Thanks again, Ceez."

Caesar smiled. "Nuttin' but love for ya, Jay. Nuttin' but love."

"Ay, Jazmine?" Riley asked. He shifted in his seat a little while he looked at Cindy, who gave a slight nod, and then back at Jazmine.

Jazmine beamed. The twinkle in his light brown eyes always gave her comfort. "Yes?"

He returned the smile. "Mind if we chop it up in private?"

Jazmine said with a nod, "Sure."

They both stood, Jazmine taking Caesar's gift with her, and excused themselves from the table, leaving Cindy and Caesar to start a new game of "Crazy Eights". As she followed Riley towards the sliding glass doors that led into the living room, she sensed something change. The pain that came with thinking of Huey disappeared. But with that came its replacement, a feeling that gave her a rush and made chills shoot down her spine.

Thoughts of being with Riley.

**To Be Continued...**

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**2nd Note: **Yo, I got an announcement to make. I've been contemplatin' makin' this crucial decision for a looooooong minute. But now it's finally come down to makin' a final decision. And right now I think after the next chapter, I'm gonna shut this story down. Not because I've got no more ideas, 'cause believe me, I already got everything down about what I wanna do, ya know? It's just, right now I'm not gettin' the response I want from doin' this story, namean? Guess maybe it's 'cause Riley/Jazmine ain't exactly what most people want. And you know me: I go where most don't go, and R/J is a road most don't wanna go down, feel what I'm sayin'? But every day, I'm thinkin', 'Man, I could be workin' on somethin' else that I got in the works', and focus on that. But yo, if you think I should continue this story past the next chapter, let me know. Maybe I'm wrong and maybe this story still got that fire and I still got that support. But until I know for sure, I got it on temporary lockdown. So yeah, let me know your opinions and all that. It's ya boy, Dave, signin' out. 'Til next time,

Peace.


	8. Chapter 8

**Heart of Porcelain**

By** DaveTheWordsmith**

**Disclaimer: **Boondocks is owned by Sony Pictures Digital Inc. and Aaron McGruder. All the copyrights associated with Boondocks belong to them. Only the ideas contained within this story are the property of the author. No profit is being earned by the writer of this story. And I don't own any of the songs or commercial products mentioned in this story.

**Note:** Yeah! I'm finally back! And the story will keep goin'! This chapter's a little short but after months of working on it, this was the final product! And a big shout out to everyone who reviewed the last chapter: A, LovinHueyFreeman, StarKiss666, Schweetpea1870, Boondocks23, Sodakandy, and Amaya.

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**Chapter Eight**

_"Girl, I'd trade it all, money, cars and everything  
All, even give up my street dream  
All, anything to have you on my team  
All, baby girl, I'd trade it all"_

_-Fabolous featuring P. Diddy & Jagged Edge - Trade It All, Pt. 2_

"Riley?"

Her soft voice gently pushed him out of his thoughts. For once in his life, since before he learned to talk, Riley was speechless. If it wasn't a cat that had his tongue, he didn't know what the hell did. But he couldn't help it.

It was difficult to maintain eye contact with someone like Jazmine, someone not only so fine and sexy, but also so intelligent, warm and loving. The girl was so nice that if she found an injured bird on her doorstep, she'd adopt it, or if she saw a homeless girl in the city with no shoes on, she'd give the bum her shoes.

That made him wonder how she was so interested in Huey, who acted completely different but still remained a good friend and eventually became her boyfriend. The thought of Huey also made him wonder where the hell he was, but he just as quickly dropped that subject. He had better things to think about.

He made eye contact with her again, which always gave him trouble in coming out with a coherent sentence. He adjusted his collar, cleared his throat. The little smile on his face probably didn't make the mood any lighter. No matter the circumstance, he always could depend on silence to be a mood killer. He stared at the blank wall to the left, covered with a mixture of shadows and the moonlight coming in through the large window from across the living room.

"Uh, my bad…" he said, then gave a few weak chuckles. He let his right foot rest on the tip of his left knee. The shiny, black leather of his dress shoes reflected the dim, yellowish light from the lamp in the far corner of the living room. "Granddad made me wear this dumb as-" he stopped himself from uttering the curse word in front of Jazmine. He had to keep his promise he made with Cindy. Don't cuss so much or do no gangsta shit in front of Jazmine, just stay cool. Besides, it would just be plain wrong. She wasn't no hoe. She was a real woman. There's no way he would cuss so flippantly in front of her. Plus, Granddad might still be around somewhere eavesdropping, just waiting for him to slip up and chastise him once again in front of his peers. "This dumb tie stay gettin' on mah nerves. Makes my throat itch like crazy."

She giggled in response to him scratch a few inches under his chin, which was just starting to grow what he believed to be the semblance of facial hair. She slid over closer to him until she sat several inches away, her hands reaching for his tie. He knew it was crooked. He didn't need her doing anything for him, or anybody else for that matter. But it was Jazmine, so he could let it slide.

His arms lifted in response, as if to project to her "No thanks, I'm cool,", but from her genteel actions, he realized she meant no harm, and proved to only provide support, by the way her slender fingers took hold of the loop of his tie, slid it over to the right a little, straightened it out, and made it a little loose. His lips curled upward into a quarter of a smile. That girl knew how he liked it.

"Awww, I think it looks cute on you. You should keep it on."

Warmth surfaced on his cheeks. He most certainly would keep it on now. Before, he felt it was affecting his swag. But if Jazmine says it looks good, then it looks good. His weak smile gained some strength. Jazmine nodded after Riley raised an eyebrow in suspicion, unsure if she only did it to patronize or if she really meant it.

"Well, you know, what can I say? I stays lookin' sharp. 50 Cent ain't got ish on me, y'know'msayin?" he looked her up and down, taking in her dress, the way her curly hair resembled a dark orange, lion-like mane, similar to Alicia Keys. He nodded his head towards her, then smiled. "You lookin' real fly, by the way."

"Thank you," she said before she let loose some more semi-stifled giggles. He loved the way she laughed, with her hand hovering over her mouth, the way her eyes looked like they smiled, and the way they curved and became halfway closed, as if she actually truly enjoyed the sensation from her laughing.

As he looked into her light green eyes, appearing to glow in the dark, it took everything he had to restrain himself from taking her hand, pulling her in close, giving her a kiss on her juicy lips. But he had to hold back. Jazmine was a special girl because she had morals, high self-esteem, unlike those other hoes around town who gave their coochie away at the drop of a hat.

"So…"

Her voice snatched him from his thoughts again. He had to stop getting stuck in his head and just relax, be cool.

"Oh, right," he said. Whether he was talking to himself or to her, was up for debate. He sighed, clapped his hands. "I got a gift for you. I kept it from errybody else 'cause if niggas knew I got this for yo' birthday, they would clown my ass erry chance they got, sayin' stuff like 'he ain't no real hard nigga, gettin' somethin' like this for you'," he finally revealed, choosing not to apply his profanity filter. He had to tell her straight up how he felt, keep his excuse raw and uncut. He took the rectangular box out of his pocket, wrapped in black and red striped wrapping paper, and handed it to Jazmine. He could see her eyes light up as she took it in her hands. "Keep this a secret, aight?"

Jazmine's focus switched between Riley and the present so many times, he snickered, wondering if her eyeballs would get whiplash. The way she shook the present in her hand, holding it up to her left ear, made him lean back, his feet up a few feet in the air as he laughed some more. This girl was too much.

"I could've sworn I asked for diamonds and pearls."

"Girl, jus' open yo present."

She poked her tongue out at him in response to his impatience before gently tore the paper from the box, place the ripped and shredded paper off to the side, then gaze at the long, leather box that contained her present. As soon as she cracked open the box, her eyes increased in diameter, a possible mixture of shock and bliss. "Oh gosh, Riley. I love it," she said, her hushed voice full of genuine awe. She held her gift up and let the metallic rope it was attached to hang from the tip of her index finger. The sparkling, pink miniature replica, roughly four inches long, of the original My Pretty Pony animated series main character gingerly swung back and forth, its bluish-white hair draped down the left side of its body, wide-eyed, smiling happily with its engraved grin. "I've wanted this since I was a little girl. Thank you so much."

She nearly took his breath away when she gave him half a hug, rubbing his back, then following it with a demure peck on the cheek. "How'd you know?" she paused to watch him lift his head a little, wondering if she would elaborate. "That I wanted this?"

Riley chomped on his lip that he sucked inward in his mouth for a few seconds, contemplating whether to divulge such information. A second was all it took before he made his decision.

"It was June 25th, two days after your 11th birthday. Cindy told me 'bout how you wanted that rare "My Pretty Pony" toy, and how you was all excited 'bout it. She could tell 'cause of the look in yo' eyes whenever you talked about it."

He looked up, hoping he'd see that same spark, that same flare she had years ago. His joy deflated when he saw her only gazing at him, yet story due to a little flickering of light reflecting off her eyes he could she was obviously enthused from hearing his words. "Back then, that thang was rare as hell to find. Still was, 'til yesterday, 'cause a friend of a friend was able to find the last one left," he took a break to silently thank Ed. "Better hold on to it. That thing's one of a kind. Not even Cindy knows I got it for you."

She nodded in the affirmative after she placed it back in the box that she had lying in her lap. "If she knew, she'd never let a day go by without talking about it, huh?"

"You know it. 'Specially back then when she was even more of a big mouth. Always talkin' smack, even when she knew she'd get her bad butt beat."

"You two always competed against each other. Did you and Cindy ever get into a fight?"

"Yeah, once," he was interrupted by her gasp. "Oh, she ain't tell you?" he smiled, images of the past flashing before his eyes. He couldn't wait to tell the story.

"A few years ago, she was a junior, I was a freshman. I had just finished my tryouts for the boys' basketball team. The day before that, she had just finished the girls' basketball team tryouts. I couldn't see hers 'cause I had detention. But she came to see me. She showed up late, but it was all good. She knows I'm like Jordan, Game 6, just ballin' so hard them fools wanna fine me, yknow? But man, I did one of them crazy Dr. J layups from behind the backboard 'n shit. And I know she loved that one. After I was done playin' she came up to me and said that she made the team again. She didn't make the team two years before that 'cause of that tall white girl that moved to our school and wiped her butt off the court, but that's a whole 'nother story.

"Anyway, it was just me 'n her left in the gym, and we was sweatin' like crazy. Me, 'cause I had played two pickup games after the tryouts, and she had just come in from runnin' around the track outside the gym. So we there on the court towards the back, and we take turns shootin'. Out of the blue, she's like, 'I bet you I could beat you one-on-one'. Before then we had never played against each other, for real, for real. We was always on the same team or we was just foolin' around. So I'm like, 'Girl, what'chu talkin' bout? I can beat you anytime, anyplace.' And man, I knew I shouldn't have said that. That was mistake number one. So she start skinnin' 'n grinnin', and says, 'Aight then. Tomorrow night, eight o'clock, it's goin' down.' And I'm like, 'Fine then, bitch! It's on! You don't scare me!' That was mistake number two, 'cause that made her even more mad."

"Oh! Is that the night you two went and played all those games? Cindy told me about that!"

"Yeah," he shook his head. "I thought it was jus' gon' be the two of us at the gym, one-on-one. But naw. This girl had the audacity, talkin' 'bout we gon' meet at Dave & Buster's and play 'Super Shot'. You know, the basketball game wit' the backboard that moves while you shootin'? And they got those raggedy ass balls, and half of 'em ain't even pumped up all the way up, so they're flat and ain't got no firmness to 'em? And it's the one game I only got real good at last year when it was too late?"

Jazmine erupted with jovial laughter, hiccupping at the very end of her outburst. "Yes, I remember!"

"Yeah, so I'm thinkin', I can't be no wimp and say 'no'. So I go on 'head and do it. So we get there that night, right? And Ceez was there, too, payin' for the whole thing, and I know he was only there 'cause he wanted to look good for Cindy with his ole simp ass self, comin' out of his pocket 'n whatever. But anyway, she says it's gon' be best 3 out of 5 games. I'm like, 'Aight, bet', so we start playin'. I ain't mind playin' in the beginning, 'cause it was only me, her, 'n some other white dude shootin' at the same time. I got 1st place right out the gate, so you know I had to do my dance, and talk shit in her face. That was mistake number three.

"Man, that white girl got pissed off 'cause she didn't know I had started practicin' behind her back, so she's all, 'Don't get it twisted, my nigga. I was just bein' easy on you. From now on, I plays for keeps.' I'm like, 'You don't scare me, Kreayshawn. Just shut up and play ball.'

"So I win the next game. For the third game, the other dude left, so it's just the two of us. And all a sudden, she just had to be showin' off, talkin' bout she the baddest white girl to ever play, 'n holdin' her hand in mah face while I'm shootin' and she makin' her baskets with just one hand 'n shit. For the next few games, she shoots the ball with her eyes closed, with her back to the hoop, all that crazy stuff, and makes all her baskets. Y'know, tryna show off in front of the crowd that done gathered 'round us the whole time.

"Meanwhile, I kept my cool, 'cause I can't be hittin' or pushin' no chick in public, 'specially if she a white chick. But you know I can't be no punk, either, y'naw'mean? I ain't no loser. Young Reezy can't, don't and won't lose to no girl, 'specially no white girl, so I still talk trash the whole time, 'cause if I go down, I'ma go down swingin', y'know?"

"Mmm hmm."

"So she beat me 3 games to 2, but she was cheatin'! I wanted to make it best seven out of ten, but she like, 'Naw nigga, you lost, 'n I don't wanna make it worse by beatin' yo ass foe' mo' times in a row in front of all these muthafuckas!'"

Jazmine nodded, laughs sputtering from her lips. "Wow, Cindy was so wrong for that!"

"O'course she was! Ceez was, too, with his Wale lookin' ass, kissin' Cindy's ass and clownin' me every chance he got. But after that…" He sighed and shook his head. "We got into an argument."

"Oh, really? Why?"

"Aight, wha' had happened was, Ceez took us home, right? And so, bein' who I am, I ain't gon' let no female walk around at night to her crib all alone. So after Ceez and Cindy kiss 'n whatever, I walk wit' her to the front door. Before she go inside, she gotta bring up the 'Super Shot' thing and how she was way better than me, and makin' fun o' me 'cause I lost the last two games back-to-back.

"So I'm like, 'I'm not gon' let you stand there and keep makin' fun o' me, wit'cho cheatin' ass, walkin' 'round like you all that.' Then she got all mad, shoved me and was all, 'I know you ain't tryna talk all smart to me, 'cause last I checked, every time you tried to play me, you lost like a lil' bitch.' I ain't know she was all serious about it. I mean, Cindy's my homegirl, but nobody gon' call me a bitch. I hate that I said what I was gon' say next, 'cause I wasn't sure I was makin' the right decision, but I was heated, naw'mean? Not just from what she called me but from dealin' wit' her talkin' shit all day. So I'm like, 'Look white girl, you jus' got lucky this time, aight? 'Sides, I thought we was gon' play real basketball, not no wack arcade game! But I shoulda known you was gon' want to play that, 'cause that's the only game you good at.' So she was all, 'Aight, you think you all that, huh nigga? Let's have a rematch right here, right now!' And you know me, I can't say no to a challenge. I'm like, 'Aight, let's do it then.'

"So we sneak past the side of her house, hopped the fence into her backyard where she got a nice b-ball court, and we played 6 games of 21, wit' no breaks, in the dark, and we sweatin' like crazy in the late night heat. We was so tired, lyin' on the court under the basket, we jus' called it a tie. And we stayed talkin' under that basket 'til midnight, just shootin' the shit, and since then, we always hung out together."

"Oh wow."

"Yeah. We put that argument in the past. But yo, you shoulda heard what she said the next day…"

As they continued to converse, Riley grinned in the inside. Just watching her doing her excited arm movements, hand gestures, even just the way she touched his hand or his forearm once in a while, made the tiny fire in his heart that represented his desire for Jazmine begin to grow into a huge, fluttering flame. That's when a puzzling thought popped into his head. Why did he rarely hang out with Jazmine? Was it because he found more in common with Cindy, her best neighborhood friend, classmate and fellow Girls Scout by day, and hardcore, ride or die, takes-no-shit gangsta by night? Or was he intimidated with the way Jazmine carried herself, so proper, so perfect, so classy, and so wholesome? Or was it a combination of both reasons? Or possibly, could it be something else, something that he didn't want to admit?

He knew one thing was for sure: people, particularly Uncle Ruckus, Granddad and from time to time his own brother Huey, considered him a poor example of someone to hang out with, calling him a negative influence, the perfect example of a suburban gangsta, someone from the hood who still acted like he was in the hood.

With each passing second, he could feel his nervousness begin to disappear, as if somehow, someway, Jazmine slowly drained the anxiety that ran through his veins. Why was he so worried about getting to this point with her? It wasn't like she was a stranger he met twenty minutes ago.

The hardest part was yet to come. But there was only one way to get there. He had to ask her out. Once again, he cleared his throat, prepping himself with proverbial invisible shields ready for rejection. Even with determination rising, doubt starting to clear away into the shadows, he always had to be prepared.

"Jay?"

She reengaged eye contact with him. "Yes?"

"What'chu got goin' on this Friday?"

A short pause. "I have student orientation, advising and registration day, that's from like 8 to about 3 or 4. After that, nothing really."

He felt his shoulders come down a little, his muscles relax. "Oh, aight. How 'bout after that, let's go hang out, have some fun. Matter fact, consider it part two of yo' birthday present."

A grin. "Part two, huh?" One eyebrow rose. "Still feel you gotta make it up to me?"

He chuckled. "Maybe. But you know how I do. When I start somethin', I always gotta finish it."

Laughter. "Mmm hmm. Well, in that case, I'm down."

Riley nodded, not only in agreement with her, but also in affirmation that he still had that Young Reezy charm he always had since he was a little kid. "Cool."

She yawned. "Sorry Riley, but I'm gonna go to bed early tonight. Had a lot to do. But Daddy said you guys can stay until midnight."

He stood up, waited for Jazmine to do the same and headed to the screen door that led to the back yard. After Riley crossed the threshold and stepped outside, she called his name. He paused and turned around to face her. The sight of her warm smile immediately made him do the same. What happened next made him swear he was dreaming. She approached him and lightly pecked him on his right cheek. "See you on Friday, Riley."

He nodded, keeping his face down to keep her from seeing him blushing. "No doubt. And don't be late."

Before she closed the sliding glass door, she said with a wink, "I won't."

His hands in his pants pockets, he watched her leave and head upstairs before he walked back to the table where a laughing Cindy and a smiling Caesar sat. After threatening them that he'd whoop their asses if they told anyone what he did, they decided to play a quick game of Crazy Eights until the clock struck 12. Although everyone else's minds were probably on the card game or the latest gossip, Riley could only focus on one thing: _getting Jazmine to be his girl this Friday night_.

**To Be Continued...**


End file.
